Thea Gagate, Julia Coronel and Alas Pilipinas during a VNL meet and greet at Mall of Asia Arena.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Thea Gagate and Julia Coronel politely declined to talk about their entry to the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft as their main focus is representing Alas Pilipinas’ upcoming FIVB Championship Challenger Cup campaign from July 4 to 7 at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Gagate and Coronel, who are among the 47 rookie aspirants, are part of the Alas training pool anew after helping the team earn a historic bronze medal in the AVC Challenge Cup last month.
“Tuloy tuloy pa rin po yung training namin. Non-stop kasi ibang level of competition na ito so kailangang tiyagain,” said Gagate, who is the starting middle blocker of the nationals.
READ: Thea Gagate, Julia Coronel lead first PVL rookie draft aspirants
Like the La Salle tandem, National University MVPs Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon, who didn’t enter the draft after the June 12 deadline, also respectfully refused to comment about their decision not to go pro in the PVL, choosing to focus with Alas.
Two-time UAAP MVP Belen said she’s slowly improving her jelling with the team, while Solomon still has a check-up on a nagging injury.
Coronel, the backup setter of Jia De Guzman, said the team is preparing well for AVC champion Vietnam, which they will face in a do-or-die game in the Challenger Cup with the winner advancing to the next round against the triumphant squad between Argentina and Czech Republic.
READ: Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon skip PVL Draft, stay with NU Lady Bulldogs
Also vying for the lone VNL spot are Belgium, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Kenya.
“We already know who we’re going to be up against, which is Vietnam so as early as now we’re already making adjustments in training,” she said.
The Lady Spikers also relished their fan meet before the VNL games on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“Of course, very happy kami na at least sa ganitong paraan, mapapasaya namin yung mga Filipino fans so we hope to meet a lot of them,” Gagate said.
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