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| (Image Source: ABS-CBN News) |
The Philippines, through the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), is set to host the second week of the men's and women's preliminary rounds of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL). The preliminary games will be held inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum on June 14-19 for the women's and June 21-26 for the men.
The federation headed by its President Ramon "Tats" Suzara is grateful for FIVB giving the country the opportunity to host the VNL since its inception in 2018. "We anticipate the return of world-class volleyball action in the country and we’re confident that with pandemic waning, the fans will enjoy the matches,” Suzara stated. The Philippines will host Pool 4 of the women’s tournament with three-time VNL champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist United States, Asian champion Japan, Southeast Asian titlist Thailand, China, Poland, Belarus and Canada. On the other hand, 2020-2021 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist France leads Pool 3 of the men’s side as it plays Japan, Slovenia, Argentina, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. Russia was initially included in the VNL pools that would play in the Philippines but the team was pulled out of the competition due to recent world events and a replacement team will be announced soon.
Since the Philippine government is steadily easing COVID-19 health and safety restrictions allowing Smart Araneta Coliseum to accommodate audiences at full capacity, Filipino volleyball fans will be given a chance to watch the sports’ marquee teams and names such as the Tokyo Olympics women’s MVP Jordan Larson, two-time VNL MVP Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and 2019 VNL MVP Andrea Drews of the United States as well as the e Japanese power trio of Yuki Ishikawa, Yuji Nishida and Ran Takahashi and Tokyo Games men’s MVP Earvin Ngapeth of France among the top volleyball players in the world to watch out for in the VNL. Spectators can purchase tickets for Week 2 of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League starting April 18 which will be priced at Php2,000 for Courtside seats, Php1,500 for Patron A, Php1,000 for Patron B, Php500 for Lower Box, Php200 for Upper Box, and Php100 for General Admission.
