Philippine volley teams set for overseas trips

MANILA, Philippines — It’s all systems go for the overseas training of the Philippine indoor and beach volleyball teams competing in the Cambodia SEA Games next month. PNVF president Tats Suzara said yesterday the final lineups will be announced before the Holy Week break as he confirmed that 14 players for men and 14 for women in indoor are training in Japan while four men and four women in beach are leaving for Rio de Janeiro.

Tryouts are continuing for now with 19 men and 17 women in the pools for indoor and six men and six women for beach. “Only the players for the SEA Games will go to Japan and Rio,” said Suzara. “They’ll be training with our Brazilian coaches.” Sergio Veloso is the men’s indoor coach, Jorge Edson Souza de Brito the women’s indoor coach and Joao Luciano Simao Barbosa, nicknamed Kiodai, the beach volleyball coach for men and women.

The men’s indoor team will set up camp with the Panasonic Panthers D1 club at the Panasonic Arena, Hirataka, Osaka on April 9 to 23. The women’s indoor team will train with the Himeji Victoria D1 club in Himeji City, Hyogo, on April 13 to 28. The beach volleyball teams will work out at the Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, on April 13 to 28. The teams will return to Manila after their training stints then travel to Phnom Penh.

Suzara said Alyssa Valdez, who sat out the recently concluded PVL All-Filipino conference, assured him that she’s good to go for the SEA Games. Seven players from the PVL All-Filipino champion Creamline squad are in the pool with Valdez, Ced Domingo, Tots Carlos, Jia de Guzman, Michele Gumabao, Jema Galanza and Kyla Atienza.

Suzara expressed concern over a report that a player in the women’s indoor pool is being deducted P90,000 from her pay by her PVL club. “I don’t know of any other PVL player subjected to payroll deduction because she’s with the national team,” he said. “Why should you penalize a player for bringing honor to her PVL club and the country by being chosen for the national team?”