PSL-Manila lalaban sa FIVB Women’s Club Championship

MANILA, Philippines – Malakas ang nabuong koponan ng  Philippine Superliga (PSL)-Manila ngunit hindi ganun kalaki ang inaasahan sa kanila sa nakatakda nilang pagsabak sa FIVB Women’s Club World Championship sa Mall of Asia Arena sa  Oktubre 18-23.

Isang linggo bago pormal na magbukas ang kanilang  training camp, ang pitong  Filipina at pitong  foreign players ay nakabuo na ng chemistry sa loob at labas ng court bilang preparasyon  sa  idaraos na volleyball spectacle.

Nasa kundisyon sina team captain Rachel Anne Daquis at Jovelyn Gonzaga ng RC Cola-Army, Frances Molina at Jen Reyes ng Petron, Mika Reyes at Kim Fajardo ng F2 Logistics at Jaja Santiago ng Foton at handang sumabak kontra sa itinuturing na  mga world’s best volleyball players.

Makakabalikat naman nila sina Ekaterina Kri-vets ng Russia, Yevgeniya Nyukhalova ng Ukraine, Lynda Morales ng  Puerto Rico, Yuri Fukuda ng Japan, Stephanie Niemer at Lindsay Stalzer ng United States at Tichaya Boonlert ng Thailand .

Ayaw namang ma-ngako ng kahit ano ni head coach Moro Branislav.

“This is a very big competition, maybe five times more competitive than the Asian club championship,” ani Branislav.

“The competition here is the same, or even better, than the Olympic games. The top players in at least six teams are all capable of playing in the Olympics. We should not be complacent. This is a very important and serious tournament.”

Mahirap din ani Bra-nislav na kailangan pa nilang magsanay na buo ang team dahil ilan sa kanyang mga players ay magsasanay kasama ng kanilang  mother clubs para sa 2016 PSL Grand Prix.

“This is going to be difficult,” ani Branislav. “Everyday, at least three to four players are coming because they are also preparing for the PSL (Grand Prix). We have to train hard and complete because we have a very short time for this competition.” “By next week, we have to start our training matches with some PSL teams. It will determine where we are right now and what are the teams we need to work on. We will also know the mix of players we will use come game time.” FML