Kobe squad joins Superliga

A strong Japanese squad that once competed against Ateneo de Manila will be flying over to serve as the fourth team in the final round of the Belo Philippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference starting Thursday at The Arena in San Juan.

Kobe Shinwa Women’s University will be planning in Tuesday to grace a press launch before plunging into action against Foton, Cignal and unbeaten Petron in the final round of this club tourney bankrolled by Mikasa, Senoh, Asics and Mueller with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

A legitimate contender in the AllJapan Women’s University Tournament, the guest squad is tipped to march into battle with the signature speed, accuracy, skills and discipline of a Japanese team.

Kobe Shinwa, in fact, gave the Lady Eagles a ringside view of Asian brand of volleyball when it faced them in a friendly match in Osaka last January.

“This team is one of the best university teams in Japan,” said PSL president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who enjoys good working relationship with his Japanese counterparts being a ranking member of the Asian Volleyball Confederation and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).

“As we know, Japanese volleyball players are not the tallest or the strongest, but they are the fastest and most disciplined. I hope we could absorb those traits and use them when we compete in the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Championship and the SEA Games this August.”

Suzara was also instrumental in bringing noted Japanese trainer Shun Takahashi and Hiroshima Oilers libero Yuri Fukuda to the country when they powered the PSL Manila squad in the prestigious FIVB Women’s Club World Championship last year.