Jia Morado (left) and Alyssa Valdez will banner an intact Creamline squad. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Superstars Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado of Creamline and two high school standouts are expected to banner Team Philippines in the Hanoi Southeast Asian (SEA) Games women’s volleyball competition, according to sources privy to the national squad selection.
Valdez and Morado, who form one of the best spiker-setter tandems these days, are likely to join 18 veterans from the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) in the national team, along with California Precision Sports high school stalwarts Jelaica Gajero and Casiey Dongallo.
Sources said that despite the fact that the duo failed to show up in the national tryouts, Brazilian coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito is willing to give them the chance to prove themselves.
Meanwhile, the 2022 PVL Open Conference is set to open on March 16 with a new team in tow.
F2 Logistics, the defending Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League winner, officially joined the PVL and could mark a burgeoning rivalry with reigning titleholder Chery Tiggo.
In support of the SEA Games, the PVL Open Conference will run until April 9—more than a month before the regional tiff’s May 12 opening.