Kurashiki Ablaze during a PVL game. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Cignal skipper Rachel Anne Daquis and Creamline’s Tots Carlos and Filipino-Japanese Risa Sato caught the attention of Japanese side Kurashiki Ablaze, one of the guest teams in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference semifinals.
Kurashiki, a third-division team in Japan, made its PVL debut on Saturday and beat Vietnam’s Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh, 23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-11, behind Asaka Tamaru’s 29-point effort.
“I heard that Rachel is also a model here and she is good at balancing her life as a volleyball player and model,” Tamaru said through an interpreter.
“Sato is Japanese and she plays here in the Philippines. I feel that Sato is courageous,” she added.
Her coach Hideo Suzuki shared the same sentiment, describing Daquis as “appealing and talented” after seeing the game between Creamline and Cignal.
He also liked what he saw from the three-time MVP Carlos, who displayed her lethal attacking.
The Japanese are enjoying their stay in the Philippines so far, although coach Suzuki rued the departure of most of the 6,430 fans following the Creamline-Cignal match that left the game between Japan and Vietnam with a thin crowd.
“The game before us had a lot of audience. But most of them left during our match so I’m a bit sad,” said the Kurashiki coach. “Next game, we will put up a good fight.”
“But it’s really a good experience to play here. There are a lot of fans cheering. We felt the love of Filipinos for volleyball,” he added.
After facing Cignal on Monday, Kurashiki battles F2 Logistics on Tuesday, PLDT on Thursday, and Creamline on Friday in the round-robin semis.
The top two teams with the best record will advance to the winner-take-all Final on July 30.
“I know that our opponents have a lot of fans so we will show how we play,” said Asaka.