Julia Coronel during the PVL Rookie Draft combine.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas setter Julia Coronel shone brightly in the PVL Rookie Draft Combine anthropometry for body measurements, as well as strength, jump, speed and agility, anaerobic, and speed endurance tests on Tuesday at Gameville Ball Park in Mandaluyong City.
Her La Salle and Alas teammate Thea Gagate may be the top pick of ZUS Coffee but Coronel was impressive on the first day of the combine, where she showed her impressive leaping abilities, topping the standard vertical jump at 27.78 inches, and placing second in the vertical jump with approach and standing broad jump, with distances of 316.0 centimeters and 248.9 cm, respectively.
The ZUS Coffee-bound Gagate stood the tallest at 189 centimeters and had the longest wingspan at 185 cm. She also ranked first in the vertical jump with approach, tallying 317.0 cm.
READ: Thea Gagate to be picked No. 1 by ZUS Coffee in PVL Rookie Draft
Julia Coronel #PVLDraft2024 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/TZ0qAIhYFv
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) June 25, 2024
The shortest draft applicant was Lian Macasiray, a former libero from DLSU-Dasmariñas who stands at 148 cm.
Meanwhile, Filipino-Canadian Aleiah Torres, a libero, excelled in several tests, achieving a group-best 50 reps in the one-minute pushup and recording the fastest time in the modified agility T-test with 5.98 seconds.
Setter Angelica Alcantara of Adamson University was the fastest in the 60-meter shuttle run, completing the course in just 14.01 seconds.
Pierre Abellana, a wing spiker from the University of Santo Tomas, also performed well, leading in pushups (43 reps), standing vertical jump (25.0 inches), and 60m shuttle run (14.35 seconds) ahead of the inaugural rookie draft set for July 8 at the Novotel Ibis Styles, the official venue partner of the country’s only professional volleyball league.
ZUS Coffee coach Jerry Yee, Creamline’s Sherwin Meneses, Choco Mucho’s Dante Alinsunurin, Cignal’s Shaq Delos Santos, Petro Gazz coach Koji Tsuzurabara and program director Oliver Almadro, PLDT’s Rald Ricafort, and representatives from Galeries Tower, Akari, and Farm Fresh scouted the combine, which also featured 11 free agents in the morning session.
READ: Thea Gagate, Julia Coronel headline PVL Rookie Draft
Eyeing for a direct hiring consideration, Mer Jauculan, formerly of Strong Group, stood out.
Jauculan, a 5-foot-4 spiker, topped five of the six tests, including 50 reps in the one-minute push-up, 32.18 inches in the standing vertical jump, 265 cm in the standing broad jump, 6.67 seconds in the modified agility t-test, and 14.34 seconds in the 60-meter shuttle run.
Other participating free agents included Judith Abil, Jan Cane, Chumcee Caole, Lhara Clavano, Dana Del Rosario, Cathrina Dizon, Sheeka Espinosa, Elaine Juanillo, Pia Sarmiento, and Menchie Tubiera.
Three free agents, AJ Jingco, Menchie Tubiera, and Souzan Raslan were absent on Day 1, while all the 47 rookies were present.
Day 2 on Wednesday will see all the draft hopefuls and free agents compete in scrimmage matches.
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ZUS Coffee will select Gagate at No.1. Capita1 will pick at No.2, followed by lottery teams Galeries Tower and Farm Fresh.
Nxled holds the fifth pick, followed by Akari, Cignal, PLDT, Chery Tiggo, Petro Gazz, runner-up Choco Mucho, and All-Filipino Conference champion Creamline.