V-League Invitational Club Championship opens Thursday

LOCAL  squads Philippine Army and Ateneo get the chance to showcase their skills against some international talent in the name of Vietnam and Malaysia as the V-League Invitational Club Championship unfolds this Thursday at The Arena in San Juan.

The Troopers and the Lady Eagles split the twin titles disputed in the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 with the former putting up a dominating performance to rule the season-ending conference of the league.

But they will be as much tested as the Eagles when they face the Russian-backed Vietnam side and the Malaysian team vying for top honors in the four-day tournament, which also serves as part of the two foreign teams’ buildup for next month’s Southeast Asian Games.

Army coach Rico de Guzman is again expected to lean on the power-hitting sisters Michelle and Marietta Carolino and the talented Dahli Cruz, Joanne Buñag, Cristina Salak, Ma. Theresa Iratay, Patricia Siatan-Torres and former Shakey’s V-League MVP Mary Jean Balse as they bid for the crown.

The Lady Eagles, on the other hand, will pin their hopes on top hitters Alyssa Valdez and Fille Cainglet and mainstays Gretchen Ho, Dzi Gervacio, Dennise Lazaro, Jem Ferrer and Leal Patnongon.

Vietnam, represented by the Vietsovpetro squad, looms as the early favorite with a roster boosted by Russian reinforcements Trernai Anactaxi and Martynova Ekoterina while Malaysia will be bannered by veterans Josephine Dee, Tan Chiew Lee, Ursula Ching and Jessie Lee See, Wong Fei Tien and Ho Xiao Hui.  /Correspondent Jonas Panerio