FORMATION OF PH TEAM FOR MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO START NEXT MONTH

MANILA, Philippines: The formation of the Philippine national team that will compete in the FIVB Men's World Championships in September 2025 will start next month.

Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon 'Tats' Suzara made this known in a press conference at the Marquis Events Place on Tuesday, March 26.

"The timeline we are preparing for the national team will start next month after the completion of the Spikers Turf," said Suzara.

Philippine men's volleyball head coach Sergio Veloso, along with assistant coaches Dante Alinsunurin and Odjie Mamon, has already prepared the pool of players which will be announced next month after the Spikers Turf and the UAAP Season 86 volleyball tournaments.

"Coaches Sergio, Dante, and Odjie will select the best players from the big pool," said Suzara, who added that the pool will be composed of 25 players.

"We have one year and a half to prepare and part of the agreement with the FIVB is to bring our team to more competitions. As you know, we have improved our world ranking from 117 last year to 56. Hopefully, we can be 32 or inside the top 20 in the Worlds next year."

Japan and Indonesia also made its bid to host the World Championships but Suzara said FIVB chose the Philippines due to the turnout of Filipino fans in the last two editions of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) that the country hosted.

"The success when it comes to fan turnout in the past two editions in the VNL is what made FIVB chose the Philippines as host of the World Championships," said Suzara.

"They saw that the Filipino fan support is really something else."

The World Championships will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena, with the final phase games set to be hosted by the latter venue.

2024-03-26T21:33:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd