By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Volleyball fans are in for a big treat starting Tuesday next week as powerhouse countries like Japan and the United States will be competing in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Quezon City women’s leg at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The host country is not among the eight countries that will vie for top honors in the June 14-19 event, but Philippine National Volleyball Federation President Ramon “Tats” Suzara is hopeful that someday a PH team can make it to the premier league.
“The VNL is only the top 16 teams in the world. So, we are not there, but I hope someday, we will be there, and we will be a world-class team like Thailand,” said Suzara during Tuesday’s presser at the Big Dome’s Green Gate lobby.
After the women’s event, the country will also playing host to the men’s side from June 21-26 also at the Big Dome.
Apart from Japan and the US, also seeing action are Thailand, Belgium, China, Bulgaria, Poland and Canada.
Men’s teams are composed of Tokyo Olympics winner France, Japan, Slovenia, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and China.
As part of their buildup, Japan and Thailand are arriving early to play the Philippine national team in the PNVF International Challenge this weekend at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The women’s team will first play against Thailand on Saturday and Japan on Sunday, while the men’s crew will go up against Japan on June 16 and Germany on June 27.
