United VC pinning hopes on Thai import

MANILA, Philippines – In a bid to salvage its flickering title chances, United VC is bringing in a very familiar import when it faces Cignal in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix.

Head coach Joshua Ylaya announced that Thai star Sutadta Chuewulim is set to see action when they march to the warzone against the twice-to-beat HD Spikers on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Chuewulim is coming in with sterling credentials.

She had a lot of success while playing for Bangkok Glass in the Thai Volleyball League from 2014 to 2017 before moving to Queen Air Force last year.

She was also part of the Thai national women’s volleyball team that took the international tournaments by storm together with other prominent international campaigners like Pleumjit Thinkaow, Nootsara Tomkom, Ajcharaporn Kongyot and rising star Chatchu-on Moksri.

But more than that, she is no stranger to Filipino brand of volleyball after powering Est Cola of Thailand in the PSL Invitational Conference in 2016, where she emerged as Best Outside Spiker.

Although the Thais lost championship game to powerhouse RC Cola-Army, the Thais still brought home the trophy as they were declared co-champions for a job well done.

Ylaya said they need Chuewulim’s attacking prowess to help Filipino-American stalwart Kalei Mau and import Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani in carrying the offensive cudgels.

“With Sutadta on board, we will have another potent scoring option,” said Ylaya, adding that the Thai will replace Tai Manu-Olevao, who left for the United States in the middle of their campaign in this import-flavored conference.

“We played without an import for four games. We could have bagged a twice-to-beat edge had we played with an import in our past few games. But now that Sutadta is here, we expect to be competitive to give Cignal a very good fight.”

Chuewulim, who also played for Cagayan Valley in the Shakey’s V-League, will be the second Thai import to see action in this season-opening conference.

Prior to her arrival, Generika-Ayala employed Kanjana Kuthaisong to replace Brazilian Nikolle del Rio, who crashed with an ankle injury in her debut.

Kuthaisong and the Lifesavers are clashing with PLDT Home Fibr in the other quarterfinal pairing.

“The advantage with getting a Thai import is that they are already familiar with our brand of play,” Ylaya said. “Our hopes are high. We know Sutadta has the power and the experience to lead us to the next round.”