THE Philippine Superliga has been invited by the Volleyball Thailand League to compete in a three-nation club tournament in Bangkok next year.
The PSL has confirmed participation in the tournament set March 22 to 28 but has yet to decide whether to send its champion team or a selection.
Among those being considered are Rachel Anne Daquis, Dindin Manabat and Aby Marano of Petron, Jaja Santiago of Foton, Cha Cruz of Meralco, Maika Ortiz of RC Cola-Air Force, Michele Gumabao and Lindsay Dowd of Philips Gold and Jheck Dionela of Cignal.
A team from Vietnam will also see action in the week-long event.
PSL president Ramon Suzara said on Monday organizers are offering a huge prize pot to make sure the tournament will be very competitive.
Suzara also said the deputy managing director of the television and marketing partner of the Asian Volleyball Confederation is coming over to watch Game One of the PSL Grand Prix best-of-three finals between Foton and Petron on Thursday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Siam Inter Multimedia (SMMTV) is the AVC’s partner for the next four years and will also cover the three-nation tournament in Thailand.
"Mr. Prajaya Chaiyakam will be coming over to personally witness how we run things here in the PSL," said Suzara, who got a fresh mandate as marketing and development committee chairman of the AVC in an election last week in Saudi Arabia.
"This is a very exciting opportunity not only to us, but also to the players and our national federation, LVPI (Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc.), as well for we will be given another major exposure that we can use in establishing our own volleyball program. We're all excited to be part of this endeavor."
Aside from the three-nation tourney, the PSL is also expected to enter the Grand Prix champion in the AVC Asian Women's Club Championship which the country will host in September.
The PSL is also hoping to field a team in the FIVB World Women's Club Championship, which could also be staged in the country in October.
"We have a lot of international tournaments in the pipeline. Since the stakes are high, we are expecting this finals battle between Fotonand Petron to go down the wire,” said Suzara.
Source: Spin.ph