7 players named to Philippine U-19 rugby squad

MANILA, Philippines – Seven players from the national development team had been elevated to the Philippine Under-19 Junior Volcanoes that will see action in the Division 1 Asia Rugby Championships set here in December.

The promotion of the seven was based on their performance in a two-match international rugby series against Hong Kong’s U19 Chinese development team recently.

The U19 Volcanoes will play teams from Korea, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates from Dec. 13-17 with the winner to be promoted to the Asian U19’s Premier Division.

Coach Carlito Abono said he was impressed by the performance of the players under the national development team in HK rugby series.

“We’re not going to talk about the results but the development of our players and their performance in HK,” said Abono in yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Two of the U19 players in Ryan Padilla and Lloyd Bendoy were with Abono in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. along with Volcanoes member Jonel Madrona, assistant coach Jovic Paypon, and Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) director Matt Cullen.