The Philippine Volcanoes Men’s 7s team prepare for the first of a three-leg series against Asia’s top 8 rugby nations in Hong Kong this Friday and Saturday at Kings Park.
The Volcanoes received a boost to their preparations as Globe Telecom’s CEO Ernest Cu gave an inspirational speech as he was elected to present to the jerseys for the 2018 Series Campaign.
Globe Telecom inked a four-year partnership with the Volcanoes in 2017, which helped the Volcanoes win a Gold Medal at the 2017 Asia Trophy Series held in Doha last year. Since their investment, the Volcanoes have been able to invest more in the national team’s preparation to ensure success as the elite level.
“Globe’s partnership for the Men’s 7s program provides a significant boost for to help professionalize our program, competing with the likes of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and China, our athletes are expected to be in the best possible position to win. For this to have any chance, a large investment in resources, facilities and equipment will help the Volcanoes topple the top teams in Asia. We are very grateful for their support,” said Jake Letts, the General Manager for Philippine Rugby.
The funding provided from Globe Telecom is allocated to the National 7s Program and the local 7s domestic competition to help foster Philippine Rugby 7s talent. The Globe Sevens Series will see six Rugby Festivals played across 3 months within Luzon.
The Volcanoes are currently preparing in a High-Performance Training Camp in Calamba, where a squad of 16 athletes have been vying for a position to be selected for Round 1 of the Asia Sevens Series.
“It’s been a very competitive training camp, we have 6 new potential debutants who are looking to secure a national jersey for the first time. It’s a fresh new team, an exciting time for the Volcanoes” said Chris Everingham, Performance Manager for the Volcanoes.
The Volcanoes will face off in Pool B, the Philippines will play Hong Kong, Korea and Malaysia before being seeded for the second day of competition on Saturday. “‹