Phl to host Asian U23 women’s volleyball tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Top under-23 lady spikers from all over the continent will converge in the Philippines next year for the Asian U23 women’s volleyball championship, the next big tournament on local soil.

According to Philippine Volleyball Federation secretary general Otie Camangian, the Asian Volleyball Confederation recently awarded the country with hosting rights for the event in May 2015.

“This is another big boost to our efforts to revitalize Philippine volleyball further,” said Camangian.

Top U23 stars like China’s Zhu Ting, and Japan’s Haruka Miyashita are expected to come over to showcase world-class skills before Pinoy fans.

The country earned the AVC’s nod on the strength of its successful staging of the PLDT Home Fibr Asian Men’s Club Championship last month.

After years of inactivity, Phl is making its return to the international volleyball scene by fielding entries and hosting events. The Power Pinoys even reached the quarters of the Manila Asian men’s club, a feat duplicated by  the Power Pinays in the counterpart 17th Princess Cup–2014 AVC Women’s Club Championships in Nakhon Pathon, Thailand.

“We’ve hosted the Asian men’s club this year then we’ll host the Asian U23 women’s next year. Hopefully, it will be the turn of beach volleyball next time,” said Camangian, who supervised the competition in the Nestea Beach Volley that ended Saturday in Boracay.

If ever, the island paradise in Aklan could serve as venue as well as areas known for their beaches like Cebu. Even Manila could be considered especially with a sand court being constructed inside the Philsports Complex in Pasig.