Many are perhaps wondering what this United Volleyball Club is all about and how they will fare in the upcoming Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix which unfurls this coming Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
UVC-as they will be known throughout the tournament-is the former Cocolife squad that will now have a new identity with plenty of familiar faces and a host of new faces when the competition begins. They debut against the Foton Tornadoes on opening day.
When the team was still known as the Asset Managers, it had almost found all the right components to be competitive in the league with a phalanx of youngsters rising to prominence under Serbian coach Moro Branislav and the heady floor patrolling of Den-Den Lazaro. Twice it competed for the bronze medal but in both occasions came up short.
Many believed Cocolife was one key acquisition away from being a legitimate threat to the upper echelon teams of the PSL and it was only a matter of time before the team would attain a podium finish.
However, the offseason told a different story and now re-emerging as UVC, the new squad must pick up the pieces and start again practically from scratch as Branislav opted to return to Serbia and Lazaro signed with Petron.
The UVC roster:
Kalei MAU - OH/OP (Arizona)
Tai MANU-OLEVAO - OH (Hawaii)
Alohi ROBINS-HARDY - S (Brigham Young)
Yaasmeen BEDART-GHANI - OH (Texas)
Bang PINEDA - L (AdU)
Justine TIU - OH (DLSU)
Gyra BARROGA - OH (DLSU)
Marge TEJADA - MB (AdMU)
Amy AHOMIRO - MB/OP (AdMU)
Dancel DUSARAN - L (UST)
Shannen PALEC - MB (UST)
Jinggay BANGAD - S (UST)
Erika ALKUINO - MB (AdU)
Arianna ANGUSTIA - MB (EAC)
Head Coach: Josh YLAYA
Fans will perhaps wonder how Ahomiro, a native of New Zealand, can play as a local for UVC in the PSL. League rules actually allow a player that graduated from a local educational institution to suit up as a local and with the 6'0" former basketball cager added to an already potent frontline, UVC is the first team in league history to parade five foreigners in the Grand Prix. Of course, Mau is Filipino-Hawaiian but she is also joined by yet another Filipino-Hawaiian as BYU star setter Robins-Hardy joins the fray.
Robins-Hardy was formerly a middle blocker who was converted to a playmaker and her listed height of 6'2" also gives UVC an added defensive presence at the net. She was a member of the United States women's team that saw action in the 2017 European Global Challenge.
With Mau almost 100% from a debilitating shoulder injury that limited her last season, this combination could well be the one-two punch newly installed head coach Ylaya needs to jump start their campaign.
A third Hawaiian in Manu-Olevao returns for another tour of duty in the PSL. She will be remembered for her gung-ho attacks and never-say-die attitude during the last instalment of the Grand Prix and having 6'4" Bedart-Ghani makes UVC the tallest team in the tournament.
The locals will also be beefed up with the arrival of Pineda, who should see heavy minutes as Lazaro's heir apparent.
Barroga gave a good account of herself in her rookie season last year and with Tiu and Tejada, UVC can have their locals concentrate more on defense as the imports, the two Fil-Hawaiians and Ahomiro will form a deadly team-up on offense.
Meshing all these talents together will be Ylaya's challenge.
The former De La Salle University (DLSU) middle blocker has done a masterful job in finding prime talent, but now has to be hands on in developing it.
With so much firepower in its line-up, UVC is seen to be one of the teams that will be contending for the title and if all falls in place, this squad could be up for a multitude of deep playoff runs in the conferences.
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