Volleyball standouts Aby Maraño, Alyssa Valdez and Jaja Santiago were some of the big names chosen for the lineup of the national women's squad set to compete in this year's Asian Games.
The roster was revealed on SportsCenter Philippines on Thursday.
Apart from the three, Kim Fajardo, Mika Reyes, Majoy Baron, Dawn Macandili, Kim Dy, Cha Cruz, Jia Morado, Dindin Manabat and Ces Molina also made the cut, with Rhea Dimaculangan and Denden Lazaro listed as reserves.
The Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI) initially came up with a 20-woman pool to form a competitive team for the Asian Games in August, the Asian Women's Volleyball Cup in September, and the Southeast Asian Games which will be held here in the Philippines next year. But the list was trimmed down to 14 players.
The national team will be coached by Shaq delos Santos, with Kungfu Reyes and Brian Esquibel as his assistants. Maraño, meanwhile, was named team captain.
"I'm so happy that I was given this kind of opportunity," said Maraño, who has donned the country's colors since 2015. "When I was young, being a national team player was my dream. I didn't expect that I would be the team captain. I'm accepting this responsibility with all my heart."
Delos Santos, who replaced Ramil de Jesus as head coach, received negative feedback from various groups and fans after his appointment was announced. But the veteran coach earlier said he is choosing to focus on the task at hand rather than the criticisms.
Before the lineup was finalized, Delos Santos said after Wednesday's practice that the team would compose of players who can be effective at more than one position.
"The players who we selected, they can play multiple positions. That's why we chose them," he said.
As part of their buildup to the several international tournaments, the national volleyball squad will compete as a guest team in the upcoming PSL Invitational which begins on June 23. The outcome of their games, however, will have no bearing on the standings.
LVPI vice president Peter Cayco said members of the national team will play for their respective mother teams as well -- which is similar to the setup of the Gilas Cadets in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. If the game is between the national squad and a player's club team, the affected player will suit up 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 earlier explained.
ESPN5's Charmie Lising contributed to this report.