THE men’s volleyball team flew to Qatar and the beach volleyball squad left for Brisbane on Tuesday night to train for two weeks in world-class environments in the top-notch volleyball countries as part of their preparation for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in May.
And to send off the teams, the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and national team partron Rebisco arranged a fitting send off for the squads—16 men in volleyball and six men and as many women in beach volleyball—in a well-attended virtual press conference on Tuesday morning.
“This foreign training is of paramount importance, because it gives us a lot of exposure,” PNVF President Ramon “Tats” Suzara told the media event attended by several players and their coaches. “Foreign training helps our national teams improve.”
Noric Ng, Business Unit Head of Rebisco, told the same press conference that he belives that the teams will do well not only in the SEA Games in Vietnam in May, but also in the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September.
“The desire to help our national volleyball program so our athletes can be competitive in international competitions is a sacred duty,” Ng said. “We do it for national pride.”
Ng reiterated Rebisco’s commitment to supporting the PNVF’s national team program.
“Rebisco has been and will always be firmly committed to the sport and to the improvement of all our teams,” he said. “We love the sport with a passion.”
Ng added: “That is why we support it at all levels—from training coaches and referees in the grassroots, to giving young people a chance to get better at the game in high school competitions, to supporting collegiate teams and participating in the professional league.”