Akari Chargers in the PVL All-Filipino Conference. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Sister teams Akari and Nxled have been the busiest team of late in the Premier Volleyball League offseason, as they exchanged players even with league president Ricky Palou rejecting the idea.
The Chargers, aside from signing former US NCAA standout Olu Okaro as import, acquired Ivy Lacsina, Dani Ravena, Kamille Cal and Cams Victoria while giving the Chameleons Trisha Genesis, Bang Pineda and Jaja Maraguinot.
Akari also lost Dindin Santiago-Manabat, who opted out of her contract after she was initially involved in that multiplayer swap with the Chameleons. She will now play for Choco Mucho.
“I learned that Dindin was not in favor (of the team-switching),” ex-interim coach Raffy Mosuela told the Inquirer over the phone in Filipino on Wednesday afternoon. “So she decided to just end her contract with Akari.”
There were also movements on the bench for both teams as Japanese Taka Minowa now assumed the coaching position at Akari with Mosuela transferring to Nxled as the assistant of Chinese coach Chen Gang.
“In the case of coach Taka and I, actually it was already planned for a long time by management that he will take over after the All-Filipino Conference,” Mosuela said.
“The management told me that they were really looking for an international coach, so for the meantime that they haven’t found him yet [last conference], I headed Akari first,” Mosuela said.
Jaja, who wanted to play alongside her sister Jho, and Maji Mangulabnan will be the setters of Nxled with Cal joining Michelle Cobb at Akari.
“The owners agreed with regard to the changes of players because it was really planned a long time ago even during the last conference,” Mosuela said.