Ced Domingo.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Celine Domingo is taking her talents to Thailand, becoming the third Filipino import to play for Nakhon Ratchasima in the Volleyball Thailand League (VTL).
Virtual Playground, which represents Domingo, announced that the Thai Club has signed the Creamline middle blocker as its Asian import for the 2023-24 season.
Domingo is joining a team, where Mylene Paat and Dindin Santiago-Manabat played together in 2022.
Nakhon Ratchasima finished with a bronze medal in March 2022 and Paat was named as the league’s best scorer.
The club ruled the 2022-23 VTL season — its fifth overall title in the league — under former Creamline coach Tai Bundit.
But there will be no reunion with Domingo and the Thai coach as Bundit will not handle Nakhon Ratchasima in the women’s division.
The 24-year-old Domingo will be seeing action in an overseas league for the first time, becoming the fourth Filipino women’s volleyball player to play in Thailand after Alyssa Valdez, who saw action for 3BB Nakornnont in 2016, and Paat and Manabat.
The two-time Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Best Middle Blocker, who won last year’s Invitational Conference Finals MVP, will be missing Creamline’s title-retention bid in the second All-Filipino Conference with setter Jia De Guzman playing for the Denso Airybees in Japan V.League.
Creamline remained unbeaten in two games amid missing Domingo and De Guzman. The former Philippine women’s volleyball team player watched the first matches of the Cool Smashers before flying to Thailand this week.
The Philippines has seven players overseas as Domingo, a former Philippine women’s volleyball team player, joined De Guzman and Jaja Santiago of JT Marvelous in Japan and MJ Phillips and Iris Tolenada in South Korea.
Marck Espejo is also playing in Korea, while reigning Top Volleyball League MVP Bryan Bagunas is playing his second season with the WinStreak in Taiwan.