As part of its buildup for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, the women's volleyball national team is set to see action in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference opening on June 23.
According to Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI) vice president Peter Cayco, the national squad will compete in the PSL as a guest team, which means their games will have no bearing on the league standings.
"I approached the PSL and asked if they can accommodate the national team in the Invitational Conference as a guest team," said Cayco. "The national team will not be included in the win-loss records of the other teams. It will be like a tuneup for them."
Head coach Shaq delos Santos and the LVPI have yet to reveal the 20-woman pool to be captained by F2 Logistics middle blocker Aby Maraño.
Similar to the setup of Gilas Pilipinas in the ongoing Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup, members of the national team will play for their respective mother teams as well. If the game is between the national team and a player's club team, said player can suit up for her club team.
"We have 20 players in the pool so it's okay if a player plays for her club team. For example, in the case of Aby, if it's the national team versus F2 Logistics, she will play for F2," Cayco explained.
As for members of the pool who are playing in the rival Premier Volleyball League (PVL), the LVPI plans to seek clearance from their team owners.
"We will ask the PVL team owners if the players can play for the national team in the PSL. They are going to play for the national team and not for the PSL," Cayco said.
The LVPI top official mentioned that they also considered the inclusion of the national team in the PVL but not in the ongoing reinforced conference as the quarterfinal stage is already underway.
"I don't want to intrude (in the PVL) because they are already in the quarters and going to the semis. Next conference, I will ask them if they can also accommodate the national team using the same setup," he said.
PVL players who were invited to try out for this edition of the national team are Creamline's Alyssa Valdez, Jia Morado, and Melissa Gohing, and Pocari Sweat's Myla Pablo and Elaine Kasilag.
The final lineup is expected to be released early this week.