THE road to Asian Games glory began the moment the Alas Pilipinas women’s pool was announced barely a month ago.
After training together for weeks, it is now time for the Nationals to show how much they have progressed.
The Filipinas left on Wednesday to Hanoi, Vietnam to see action in the first of the two-leg SEA V Cup where they will face off right off the bat the dangerous host nation on Friday at the Dong Anh Gymnasium.
The squad will be mentored by Japanese Taka Minowa, husband of Jaja Santiago, and bannered by a squad of players mostly loaned by the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), among them Capital1’s power trio of Bella Belen, Vanie Gandler and Erika Santos.
Also from the PVL playing for Alas are ZUS Coffee’s Thea Gagate, Choco Mucho’s Eya Laure and Dawn Catindig, PLDT’s Dell Palomata, Akari’s Mars Alba, Justine Jazareno and Fifi Sharma, Galeries Tower’s Lams Lamina and Creamline’s Jia de Guzman.
Plucked from outside the PVL were Niña Ytang, Alyssa Solomon, Arah Panique, Shaira Jardio, Celine Marsh, Vange Alinsug, Angel Canino and Amie Provido.
Alas is hoping to hatch a surprise in the quadrennial event, set this September in Aichi, Japan where it was grouped with defending champion China and taller Kazakhstan at Pool B.
Alas will have its hands full versus Vietnam, which ended powerhouse Thailand’s eighth straight title reign by snatching the crown in last year’s Leg 2 in Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
The Nationals will then have a taste of world-class volleyball as they battle the Thais, who have been promoted to the prestigious Volleyball Nationals League as the first from the Southeast Asian region to do so, on Saturday.
Alas will wrap up its campaign versus Indonesia on Sunday.
The champion will be decided right after the single round robin format.
Leg 2 is set Aug. 7-9 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In nine legs of this annual meet, the Alas has finished third six times and fourth and last in the other three. — Joey Villar