By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The stage is now set.
After almost two weeks of searching for the foreign guest teams that would round up the ongoing Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference, president Ricky Palou and his hardworking committee finally found the two clubs that will spice up the pro league confirmed last July 6, 2023.
The Kurashiki Ablaze volleyball club from Japan and the Kinh Bac Ninh from Vietnam just committed to play in the PVL and are expected to grace the semifinal round on July 20, 2023, to be held at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
These two teams will surely bring a different type of competition for the Filipina spikers just like what KingWhale Taipei achieved last Invitational Conference.
Despite losing in the grand finals against the talented Creamline Cool Smashers, the Taiwanese volleyball club still flaunted their skills and showed immediate dominance during the playoff round.
Kurashiki will look to duplicate what KingWhale did and will be led by some of Japan’s top spikers currently playing in the Japan V. League Division III.
Some notable names that will lead Kurashiki in the PVL are Saya Taniguchi, Sayaka Tanida, Yukino Yano and Saki Tanabe.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese representatives also posted a brilliant track record after qualifying in the previous Vietnam’s National Championships league.
Kinh Bac won the bronze medal in the prestigious volleyball tournament last 2019 and became a consistent top-five finisher since 2018.
Currently, the PVL is on a break due to the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) being staged here in the country.
The Invitational Conference will then resume on July 11, 2023, featuring a highly-anticipated clash between the Choco Mucho Flying Titans and the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in the last scheduled match.
