PH volleybelles get feet wet in Asian clubs championships

Sisters Dindin Santiago-Manabat (left) and Jaja Santiago are expected to spearhead the women’s national team. —PVL

The Philippine women’s volleyball team, a collection of the best talents in the land which has been seen as an underachiever despite its glamor, will take the first steps of its rebuilding process next week in the super tough Asian Clubs Championships.

Playing in a tournament that is several notches higher than the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games where they fared badly in, the Nationals start the long process towards greatness as they clash with teams from Iran and Kazakhstan starting Oct. 8, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

This will be the first tournament where Brazilian coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito will start calling the shots for the Nationals, as he handles Team Rebisco, the PH Team A, in the seven-team event.

Experienced mentors

“My team is representing their country as all of them are national players,” said De Brito. “There are a lot of good players. The experienced ones are like the mentors to my younger players and I like the balance in my team.”

It will also mark the first time that this team will see action since the 2019 SEA Games which the Philippines hosted. De Brito’s players belong to different clubs.

“I started with this team in July and I expect them to enjoy their plays here after a long time without playing,” he said. “They are the young players of Philippine team.”

Filipino coach Odjie Mamon, who will be at the helm of the developmental team (Choco Mucho), said the long layoff of the teams might show as far as their competitiveness is concerned.

“We are stronger individually, but as a team we had less time to prepare,” said Mamon. “It has been a long layoff as we finished the professional league last August and we had no chance to play.”