TEAM captain Jaja Santiago expressed the readiness of Foton Pilipinas when it sees action in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Asian Women’s Club Championship, which fires off today at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan City.
The 6’5” Santiago is aware that the Tornadoes will be in for a big challenge, as a strong field of former Olympians and national players will be around to play for other competing squads from other countries.
“I expect the team to be more motivated and in fighting form,” said Santiago during a presentation of teams yesterday at the Crimson Hotel in Alabang.
The Tornadoes will clash with Pocari Sweat of Hong Kong in their opening game at 2:30 p.m.
Italian coach Fabio Menta said the team is young, but they are working hard to improve on their level of play.
“We look forward to this challenge. It’s going to be exciting,” said Menta.
Bangkok Glass of Thailand, the defending Asian champion, is tipped to make it to the finals of this spikefest featuring a star-studded cast.
There’s Yuan Xinyue, a 19-year-old middle blocker, who was with China, which won the gold medal in the recent Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Yuan will be aided by Ba’yi Shenzhen and Lin Yanhan, an open spiker who was adjudged as the most valuable player in the Asian U23 Women’s Championship last year in Manila.
The NEC Red Rockets of Japan also have an Olympian in middle blocker Haruyo Shimamura, plus another talented bet in Sarina Koga.
Koga was hailed as the best scorer and MVP for Japan when it won the gold medal in the Asian Youth Girls’ Championship in 2012.
TV5 and SMMTV-Thailand are the official television partners, with Crimson Hotel serving as the official hotel for the participating teams.
A match between T. Grand of Chinese Taipei and the Malaysian national squad will be at 11:30 a.m.
A brief opening ceremony is set at 1:30 p.m., with Binan City Mayor Arman Dimaguila declaring the games open, along with Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. president Joey Romasanta and Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez.
AVC Honorary Life President Wei Jizhong will also grace the occasion as guest of honor.
The Tornadoes have American imports Lindsay Stalzer and Ariel Usher together with guest players Aby Marano of F2 Logistics, Jen Reyes of Petron and Jovelyn Gonzaga of RC Cola-Army.
Games Today
(Alonte Sports Arena)
11:30 a.m. – Chinese Taipei vs Malaysia
1:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
2:30 p.m. – Philippines vs Hongkong
5 p.m. – Indonesia vs Kazakhstan
7 p.m. – North Korea vs Iran