Philippine spikers to skip Asiad opening march

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Philippine women's volleyball team will arrive Thursday night from training in Okagawa, Japan and will have very little time to rest before they fly to Jakarta for the 18th Asian Games.

Peter Cayco, president of the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc., said the team planes in from Osaka at 10 p.m. Thursday, head home, pack their bags then fly to Jakarta at 8 a.m. Friday morning.

The team has decided to skip Saturday's opening parade for the thousands of athletes from the 45 participating nations at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta.

"They are skipping the opening ceremony so they could practice on Saturday in time for Sunday's game against Thailand," said Cayco.

"They would rather have an extra day of practice than join the parade," Cayco added.

It's the first time in 36 years that the Philippines is fielding a team in women's volleyball in the Asian Games, and Filipino volleyball officials are keeping their fingers crossed.

"The goal remains the same. We want to get to the quarterfinals," said Cayco, whose team is supported by TV5, Rebisco, Air Asia, Sonak and American Tourister.

To make that happen, the Philippines will have to beat Hong Kong or host Indonesia. The two others in their bracket are Thailand, the 2014 bronze medalist in Incheon, and Japan, always a force to reckon with.

In the other bracket are reigning Asian Games champion South Korea, 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist China, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei and India.

"We beat Hong Kong and we're in the quarterfinals. We're also confident that we can get past Indonesia," added Cayco.

The seven-day training in Okagawa gave the players led by Alyssa Valdez, Aby Marano and Jaja Santiago the extra boost heading to the Asian Games.

"The Japanese coach said this team was better than the one we sent to Japan for training last year," said Cayco, adding how last-minute replacement Mylene Paat caught the eyes of the Japanese.

"She was a revelation in this camp," said Cayco.