Calado hopes to crack national team

MANILA, Philippines — Making it to the national team is the next goal for volleyball’s rising star Mark Frederick Calado.

Fresh from a stellar Most Valuable Player campaign in the first Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League, Calado hopes to crack the Philippine men’s team and head toward a busy international stretch next year.

“I’m ready to do everything just to be in the national team. That has always been my dream,” said the FEU stalwart after leading Team Dasma Monarchs to a sweet big upset win over fancied Go For Gold-Air Force in the finals.

“That’s what I want to achieve, to compete at the highest level with the national team in international competitions.”

At 21, the former UAAP juniors MVP has shown immense potential worthy of a slot in the national team during the PNVF event that featured seasoned players and national team members.

On top of his MVP performance, Calado was hailed as the Best Outside Hitter to lead the list of individual awardees.

But before making a run for national team inclusion, Calado and the Monarchs are set for their own international tour of duty next year.

Along with women’s champion F2 Logistics, Dasma booked a seat to the 2022 Asian Volleyball Club Championships as the country’s representatives.