The STANDS - An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

July 19, 2024

Angel Canino is one of the top talents in the national team pool. (UAAP PHOTO)

Hey there sports fan, Before we get to the PVL, let's discuss for a few moments a brewing and urgent problem with the national pool. Last week, I mentioned that Chery Tiggo kept standouts Eya Laure and Jennifer Nierva from practicing with Alas Pilipinas, the country's women's volleyball national team.  Talks were held to clarify certain "rules" and the hanging sanction that teams face if they withhold players from the national program. That sanction will end up toothless if it is applied to PVL clubs only. The Alas Pilipinas pool includes talents like Angel Canino, Alyssa Solomon, Bella Belen, Aira Panique and Casiey Dongallo. These are big-time young talents who belong to a more powerful volleyball stakeholder, the UAAP. And unless the national federation applies the same sanction to UAAP schools, the program is always going to suffer the age-old problems of incomplete attendance during training sessions. Already, Canino reportedly left the program to return to La Salle for its UAAP preparations. Meanwhile, the PVL has already started and notable imports have began flexing their muscles right on the first day. Elena Samoilenko provided a highlight show of scoring prowess as PLDT stunned Creamline while Kath Bell rang loudly for Chery Tiggo. Newcomer Meegan Hart (yes, there's an extra "e" in her name) provided Nxled with reason to hope for a better performance. There's other reasons to be excited. Injured players have returned, for one. Also, The PVL has said that instituting a Rookie Draft will lead to more competitive matches and that's something we will keep track of. So far, the top rookies haven't seen action either because they are still working their way into the rotation or because of national team commitments  But some newbies have managed to impress. Still everyone, including the league, is looking forward to seeing how these rookies will impact their squads. By the way, Alyssa Valdez may have missed Creamline's opening game in the Reinforced Conference, but that doesn't mean she's been inactive. She held a clinic recently and talked about opening opportunities and making a return to the national team.

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Paris is all set for the Olympics. (AFP)

Meanwhile... …The Paris Olympics is upon us and we have began creating a link menu of all stories regarding this year's edition of the Summer Games. We've got primers about everything you need to know about the Olympics, features on Filipino athletes competing there and updates from all over the world. Speaking of the Olympiad, here's a trivia question: Including the Paris Olympics, the United States has sent more female athletes than male ones in how many straight Summer Games? Tou can find the answer at the end of this email.  What we're up to next: It's going to be a lot of the Paris Olympics in the coming week, but fret not volleyball fans. We will also have people on the ground for the PVL Reinforced Conference and we wil also continue to get updates on the teams' preparations for the PBA Governors' Cup, which will kick off the league's 49th season. Number of the Week: 90 Minimum number of boats that will be used in the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony, where instead of the traditional walk-in of delegations, athletes will get to parade through the Seine river.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Skill is one gift, but being disciplined and knowing how to play as a team are also gifts that we can teach them.” —Alyssa Valdez, Creamline star, on holding clinics for young volleyball hopefuls.

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Four. That's the answer to the trivia question above. Think you can ace the rest of our weekly sports quiz? head over to our Viber community and try the test out! Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. See you next Friday! Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).