ALYSSA Valdez will most likely skip the Philippine women's team's stint in the VTV Invitational Volleyball Cup in Vietnam owing to overfatigue concerns, head coach Roger Gorayeb said.
Gorayeb said Valdez will likely be pulled out by Ateneo for a little rest after a long grind that saw her steer the Lady Eagles to a second UAAP title aside from stints in the Asean University Games last December, the Under-23 Asian championships last May and the Southeast Asian Games a month ago.
"Si Alyssa baka pagpahingahin na lang rin muna ni (Ateneo coach) Tai (Bundit) ‘yan kasi marami na siyang nasalihan na tournament at hindi naman pwedeng sagarin ang bata," Gorayeb said.
As it is, Gorayeb said only five of the players from the SEA Games team have confirmed participation in the Vietnam tournament, namely skipper Jovelyn Gonzaga, Abi Marano, Rhea Dimaculangan, Maika Ortiz and Dindin Santiago-Manabat.
"Ang laki nga ng problema ko kasi naubos na ang opener ko pero sa quicker OK naman ako," he said.
Ateneo setter Jia Morado and San Sebastian ace spiker Gretcel Soltones are out due to knee and shoulder injuries, respectively, while libero Denden Lazaro has earlier backed out to give priority to her studies in med school.
Rachel Anne Daquis has a long-scheduled trip to Canada and is still trying to rebook her flight.
Gorayeb also confirmed that Ateneo middle blocker Bea de Leon is unavailable while Jaja Santiago will play for National University in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference.
Valdez is also seeing action for the Lady Eagles in the V-League.
The multi-tiled mentor, however, said he is looking to sign up libero Lizlee Ann Gata-Pantone, Royse Tubino, Frances Molina and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, who was a reserve and assistant coach in the SEA Games, as replacements.
Source: Mei-Lin Lozada of Spin.ph
