PVF unveils official National Team roster for Asian Men’s Club Championship Manila

No pomp and pageantry necessary. They have trained diligently and now they are off to Korea to intensify the process.

The Philippine national team that will be seeing action in the PLDT Home Fibr Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship (AMCC) which happens on April 8-16 at the Mall of Asia Arena and the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City has been revealed by the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) through its Secretary General Rustico “Otie” Camangian in a phone conversation with Yahoo! Sports Philippines.

Dubbed as the “Power Pinoys” the team, backed by PLDT Home TVolution, has officially submitted its final line-up to the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) and the Final Fourteen comprising the team are now in full swing with regards to the final stages of their training in preparation for this prestigious undertaking which will involve eighteen nations and establishes the Philippines as the next volleyball hub in the region.

Here is the Final and Official roster:

Alnakran Abdilla—6’2” Opener

Ian Fernandez—5’11” Setter

Ron Jay Galang—6’2” Opener

Richard Gomez—6’2” Opener

JR Labrador—6’1” Opener

Cedric Le Grand (Import-AUS)—6’4” Quicker

William Robert Lewis (Import-AUS)—6’5” Quicker/Setter

Gilbert Longavela—5’8” Libero

Jeffrey Malabanan—6’1” Utility

Raffy Mosuela—5’9” Setter

Henry Pecaña—5’11” Utility

Jayson Ramos—6’3” Quicker

JP Torres—6’4” Opener/Quicker

Peter Den Mar Torres—6’3” Quicker

Head Coach: Francis Vicente

The Australian pair of Le Grand and Lewis are seen to add quickness to the middle hitter position to compensate for the lack of height of the squad. Lewis is also a talented setter.

Le Grand was a former national team member and is a veteran of the Victorian Premier League where he is the reigning MVP while Lewis is also a stalwart in the same league.

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The addition of former national team mainstays Pecaña, Fernandez and Mosuela is expected to add depth on the squad. Peter Torres’ recent exploits as part of the back-to-back UAAP champion National University (NU) Bulldogs has made him a must-add for the team while Longavela—the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) recipient of the Best Libero plum—is looked on to provide extensive floor defense.

The names of JP Torres, Ramos, Malabanan, Galang, Abdilla and Gomez were already disclosed during the recent press conference held by the PVF last March 13th.

For Gomez, he will be making his fourth national team appearance in a different sport as the 47-year-old actor/sportsman has had the opportunity to represent the Philippines in rowing, fencing (a position he held for sixteen years) and shooting. The Bulacan native returns to his first sport he excelled in during his youth and was a college varsity player for the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) during his tertiary years.

“All the sports I represented the country in were challenging,” said Gomez. “But this is a sport very close to my heart, so I will give my all to contribute in whatever way I can (to the team).”

Head Coach Francis Vicente has used different training methods in order to come up with the ideal line-up with all those who tried out.

“The first thing we looked for was commitment in terms of time,” the reigning PSL men’s mentor bared. “After that, we needed to find the right combination of players and after all those weeks of training, we are there.”

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“The members of the women’s team will be announced on March 27,” Camangian said, referring to the Power Pinays squad that will compete in the distaff version of the tournament slated on April 16-24 in Nakhompathom, Thailand.

As of now, the shoo-ins are former Power Pinays skipper Angeli Tabaquero, her Power Pinays teammate Michelle Datuin, Philippine Army’s Rachel Anne Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga and reinforcements Misao Tanyama of Japan and Cuba’s iconic Regla Bell-Mackenzie. Former University of Santo Tomas aces Maika Ortiz and Rhea Dimaculangan are also touted to be included in the official roster, while former Power Pinays liberos Jheck Dionela and Lizlee Ann Gata-Pantone are also considered no-brainers for the squad.

However, a source close to the Power Pinays revealed that veteran utility spikers Suzanne Roces and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas are set to be included as well as possibly two more from the collegiate ranks.

“It’s no secret that the team is eyeing the Santiago sisters (Din-Din and Jaja from NU),” the source said, on condition of anonymity. “But if players like (De La Salle University captain) Aby (Maraño), Mika (Reyes) and even (Perpetual Help’s) Royse (Tubino) can be made to join, then it will really help. Kulang na kulang sa pang-gitna talaga yung team.”

Bell-Mackenzie, 43, and Tanyama, 35, are believed to need a lot of help in terms of young legs from the Power Pinays. Head Coach Sammy Acaylar will submit his official line-up to the federation before the end of the week.

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So with the announcement of the men’s squad, it will be all systems go for the AMCC as the Philippines will be hosting this tournament for the first time ever. April ushers in an influx of unprecedented volleyball action.

Philippines, are you ready?

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com