THE men’s tryouts for the national volleyball team were successfully held at the Subic Gym “bubble” on Thursday.
Thirty-one of the 40 players invited participated in the tryouts, which is geared towards assembling a formidable team for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam later this year.
Leading the players who tried out was Marck Espejo, a member of the silver medal-winning team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, and teammates Jessie Lopez and Josh Retamar.
Among those also on hand include long-time Philippine team skipper John Vic de Guzman, Mark Alfafara, Jao Umandal, JP Bugaoan, Kim Dayadante, Anthony Ekwenugo, Mark Enciso, Alche Gupiteo, Noel Kampton, Kim Malabunga, Rex Intal, Nico Almendras, Leo Aringo, Lloyd Josafat, Joeven dela Vega, Jack Kalingking, and Louie Ramirez. Notably absent though was veteran Bryan Bagunas, who arrived in the country from his stint in the Japan V.League only recently and had to complete a 14-day quarantine.
In the tryouts, the players were divided for the morning and afternoon sessions where they got to showcase what they can do on the court to be considered for a spot in the national squad.
The Philippine National Volleyball Federation, Inc. (PNVF) said they are satisfied with what they saw and expect the evaluation to be a tough one.
“I’m sure the coaches will have a hard time determining who to pick,” PNVF President Ramon Suzara said, adding that the men’s and women’s volleyball teams will be composed of 20 players each.
The women’s volleyball tryouts happened on Wednesday with the beach volleyball tryouts capping the federation’s activity on Friday.
As part of health and safety protocols agreed with national and local authorities, all participants underwent RT-PCR tests with the players wearing face masks all throughout the tryout proceedings. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo