THE Philippines hosts another major international volleyball tournament, the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup for Women, on Aug. 21 to 29 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Nine of the top Asian teams, with the Philippines as the 10th squad as host, are taking part in the tournament’s seventh edition that was originally scheduled for 2020 but was canceled due to coronavirus pandemic.
Team Philippines will be represented by top players from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, according to Philippine National Volleyball Federation President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
“This is a strong tournament and our young players, who we envision as the future of Philippine volleyball, will get the needed exposure against the continent’s best teams,” said Suzara, whose PNVF successfully hosted a Men’s and Women’s leg of the Volleyball Nations League last June at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Philippines is bracketed in Pool A with reigning champion China, South Korea, Iran and Vietnam. Pool B is composed of 2018 runner-up Japan, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipai and Australia.
“Just like the VNL, Filipino volleyball fans will again be treated to world-class volleyball action considering that world-ranked teams China, Japan, Iran, South Korea and Thailand are playing,” Suzara said.
The preliminaries are set from Aug. 21 to 25 with the Philippines facing Vietnam on Aug. 21, China on Aug. 23, Iran on Aug. 24 and South Korea on Aug. 25, all scheduled at television prime time 7 p.m.
