PH Jr. Volcanoes looking to pull off upset vs seasoned foes

Kingsley Ballesteros, Volcanoes assistant coach Jake Letts, and Joshua Aragon at the PSA Forum Tuesday.

Despite coming in as underdogs, the Junior Philippine Volcanoes are still swinging for the fences as they take on Korea in the 2016 U19 Asia Rugby Championship semifinals.

Assistant coach Jake Letts said that despite gap in talent, the Filipinos still have it to pull off an upset against the number two-seeded Koreans.

“This will be a very tough tournament for us, but we want to approach the first game very strong. We have home court advantage here,” he said Tuesday in the weekly PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

The Philippines plays Korea at 5 p.m. on December 14 at International School of Manila, followed by the other semifinal tiff between Singapore and United Arab Emirates at 6:30 p.m.

The winners of both games will advance to the Finals on December 17 at 2 p.m.

Letts said that winning the tournament will be huge for the country’s aspirations of joining the top flight
teams in Asia.

“Only one team will be promoted, so only the winner will proceed,” he said.

Fortunately, the Junior Volcanoes are fielding possibly one of the strongest teams they’ve ever
assemble. The 25-man pool is comprised of 13 local players and 12 heritage players coming from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, and the United Kingdom.

Letts, together with head coach David Johnston, said that the tournament will also serve as “a breeding ground and talent identification” for future rugby squads, especially for the upcoming 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“They will all be considered for the SEA Games,” said Letts. “We know the tall task that comes in this tournament, but speed will be our biggest asset.”

Part of the under-19 crew which will see action in the tourney are locals Kingsley Ballesteros and Joshua Aragon of the Clark Jets, as well as experienced campaigners Rhys Jacob Mackley, Kai Ledesma Stroem, and Robert Benitez McCafferty.