Phl to host Asian volley tournament

The Philippines is set to host the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup for Women from 21 to 29 August at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Nine of the top Asian teams, with the Philippines as the 10th squad as host, are taking part in the tournament’s seventh edition that was originally scheduled for 2020 but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is a strong tournament and our young players, who we vision as the future of Philippine volleyball, will get the needed exposure against the continent’s best teams.

Team Philippines will be represented by top players from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

“This is a strong tournament and our young players, who we vision as the future of Philippine volleyball, will get the needed exposure against the continent’s best teams,” the Philippine National Volleyball Federation said in a statement.

The Philippines is bracketed in Pool A with reigning champion China, South Korea, Iran and Vietnam. Pool B is composed of 2018 runner-up Japan, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei and Australia.

The preliminaries are set from 21 to 25 August with the Philippines facing Vietnam on 21 August, China on 23 August, Iran on 24 August and South Korea on 25 August, all scheduled at television prime time 7 p.m.

The top five teams from each pool will advance to the knockout quarterfinals set on 27 August with the semifinals set for 28 August and the qualification matches and final on 28 August.

China won five of the tournament’s six editions — Nakhon Ratchasima 2008, Taicang 2010, Shenzhen 2014, Vinh Phuc 2016 and Nakhon Ratchasima 2018.

Thailand broke the streak in Almaty 2012.