Larong Volleyball names new coaches

THE Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI) has designated veterans Sammy Acaylar and Francis Vicente as coaches of the national team slated to compete in major international competitions this year including the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Acaylar will handle the men’s team while Vicente will call the shots for the women’s squad.

Acaylar steered University of Perpetual Help System Dalta to numerous titles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and was part of the coaching staff when the import-laden Philippine SuperligaManila competed in the FIVB Women’s Club World Championships held last year in Manila.

On the other hand, Vicente guided the University of Santo Tomas high school team to championship titles in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) juniors.

He also helped rebuilding the National University women’s team in the UAAP then coached some teams in the PSL including Philips Gold and Generika.

Right now, Vicente is the head coach of the University of the East women’s volleyball team.

After naming the national team coaches, the LVPI will now focus on creating a solid team for future international tournaments. They will invite players from PSL and Philippine V-League - the country’s two major volleyball league - as well as those from UAAP, NCAA and other provinces such as Visayas and Mindanao.

Besides the SEA Games, the women’s national team will be competing in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Women’s Seniors Championship to be held on August 9 to 17 in Manila.

Fifteen teams are expected to join the tournament including Rio Olympics gold medalist China, defending SEA Games champion Thailand and London Olympics bronze medalist Japan. Also seeing action are Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

After the AVC event, the Philippines will play in the Malaysia SEA Games on August 19 to 31.