(CNN Philippines) — Players from the Philippine SuperLiga (PSL) make up the entire lineup of the national team that will compete in the 18th Asian Senior Women’s Championships in Tianjin and Beijing, China from May 20 to 28.
Petron Blaze Spikers Aby Maraño and Dindin Santiago-Manabat lead the 18-member pool that was announced by the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI) on Tuesday (April 14).
Aside from Maraño and Santiago-Manabat, Petron’s Carmina Aganon, Mary Grace Masangkay, Ivy Perez, and Frances Molina also made the cut.
Rounding up the roster are: Philip Gold’s Myla Pablo, Shaya Adorador, Melissa Gohing, Michele Gumabao, and Iris Tolenada; Cignal’s Jeck Dionela, Jannine Navarro, Lourdes Clemente, Rica Jane Enclona, and Jeanette Panaga; Shopinas’ Kim Dy and Mane ’N Tail’s Abby Praca.
The lineup was submitted to the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), and according to the LVPI, the 18 players will be trimmed to 12 a week before the tournament opens.
PSL coaches Sammy Acaylar of Cignal, Francis Vicente of Philips Gold, Shopinas.com assistant coach Benson Bocboc and Mane ‘N Tail’s Rosemarie Prochina are all part of the coaching staff.
The Philippines is bunched up with Kazakhstan, South Korea and powerhouse Australia in Group D of the tournament.
Group A consists of host country India, Fiji Islands, and Iran. Reigning champion Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong make up Group B, while Japan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam and Mongolia are in Group C.
The Philippine team will kickoff their campaign in the preliminary round against the Australia on May 20.
Excited to play with fellow PSL stars
Upon learning she made the lineup, the 23-year-old Maraño is already looking forward to competing alongside other PSL players.
“Masaya ako kasi I don’t only get to play the sport that I love, I’ll also get to play with the players that I’m not teammates with sa PSL,” said Maraño .
“Magandang experience ito para mas marami pa akong makilalang volleyball players sa community.”
But the former La Salle hitter admits the team will need to gel quickly for the upcoming tournament.
“I think we’ll have to work on how we can play as one cohesive unit. We really need to get to know each other first kasi ang individual skills nandyan na ‘yan pero kung paano namin pagtatagpi-tagpiin ‘yun ang kailangan namin gawin,” said Maraño.
“Pero dadating na lang ‘yun naturally kapag nakilala na namin ‘yung bawat isa.”
