Tryouts for the men’s volleyball team in Subic had nearly a full attendance. PNVF PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The tryouts for the men’s national volleyball team had nearly double the turnout of the women’s squad after 31 of the 40 invitees filed into Subic Gym Thursday.
Marck Espejo, member of the silver medal team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, led the contingent along with national team veterans Jessie Lopez and Joshua Retamar.
Bryan Bagunas, who played for Oita Miyoshi in Japan, wasn’t able to join the tryouts as he is still under the mandatory 14-day quarantine after arriving in the Philippines.
DAY 2 ✅
A step closer to 🥇. Huge shoutout to all 31 players who attended the men’s national volleyball team🇵🇭 tryouts at the Subic Gymnasium today.
Tomorrow, we hit the sands🏖️ for the final day of the tryouts for our national beach volleyball teams. pic.twitter.com/gmcGfBlDHT
— Volleyball Philippines (@volleyball_phi) April 29, 2021
“I’m sure the coaches will have a hard time determining who to pick,” said Ramon “Tats” Suzara, president of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.
In contrast, only 16 players showed up for the women’s tryouts on Thursday.
Former skipper John Vic de Guzman said he saw how much hunger the participants had in their bids to join the national team.
“The tryouts were good because it’s done by batch and a lot attended it,” said de Guzman in Filipino. “You can also see that they really want to be part of the national team. We’re happy because it was well-organized especially when it came to the safety protocols.”