Fair Play: Bombarinas fall victim to sports politics?
A FEW months ago, Southwestern University standouts Raphril Aguilar and Danica Gendrauli made the cut for the Philippine National Volleyball team during a series of tryouts conducted by Vangie de Jesus in Cebu.
The squad also has taken to calling itself the Bombarinas, in an effort to market itself effectively. Now, the two are on the outside looking in, victims of the malaise that is hitting the PVF.
The PVF was invited to the Southeast Asian qualifying tournament of the 2014 World Volleyball Championships but begged off due to the lack of time to form a team and that age-old excuse of lack of funds.
So apparently, even while conducting a tryout last March in Cebu—which the PVF claimed was one of a series held nationwide—and getting a $7,000 subsidy from the Asian Volleyball Federation for the tournament, the PVF didn’t have enough time and money to form a national team.
Of course, that begs the obvious question, are the people in the PVF doing their jobs?
You have to ask yourself this because volleyball in this country can lay claim to being the second-most popular sport and we have a very successful V-League that is televised live and gets a great crowd regularly.
How the PVF can’t take advantage of that to form a solid national team or even put up a solid grassroots program makes you wonder.
And since the PVF has declined the invitation, the Philippine Olympic Committee has taken the job of forming a national team and has gotten players from—where else—the V-League to form a squad just days before the tournament starts.
The POC also got a sponsor for the team, doing in a matter of days what the PVF can’t or refused to do.
How embarrassing it would have been for the country with such a strong volleyball following to be absent in the qualifiers.
Perhaps, this is the perfect moment to give the PVF that shot in the arm it needs to reform itself? It’s time to get rid of all the officials in the PVF, put in people who really know what they are doing.
I know the PVF is in the middle of a struggle between stakeholders, and while both camps are busy claiming who is right and who is wrong, guys like Aguilar and Gendrauli are wondering what they are getting into.
The Bombarinas have bombed out before they could even take to the court.
(mikelimpag@gmail.com)
The squad also has taken to calling itself the Bombarinas, in an effort to market itself effectively. Now, the two are on the outside looking in, victims of the malaise that is hitting the PVF.
The PVF was invited to the Southeast Asian qualifying tournament of the 2014 World Volleyball Championships but begged off due to the lack of time to form a team and that age-old excuse of lack of funds.
So apparently, even while conducting a tryout last March in Cebu—which the PVF claimed was one of a series held nationwide—and getting a $7,000 subsidy from the Asian Volleyball Federation for the tournament, the PVF didn’t have enough time and money to form a national team.
Of course, that begs the obvious question, are the people in the PVF doing their jobs?
You have to ask yourself this because volleyball in this country can lay claim to being the second-most popular sport and we have a very successful V-League that is televised live and gets a great crowd regularly.
How the PVF can’t take advantage of that to form a solid national team or even put up a solid grassroots program makes you wonder.
And since the PVF has declined the invitation, the Philippine Olympic Committee has taken the job of forming a national team and has gotten players from—where else—the V-League to form a squad just days before the tournament starts.
The POC also got a sponsor for the team, doing in a matter of days what the PVF can’t or refused to do.
How embarrassing it would have been for the country with such a strong volleyball following to be absent in the qualifiers.
Perhaps, this is the perfect moment to give the PVF that shot in the arm it needs to reform itself? It’s time to get rid of all the officials in the PVF, put in people who really know what they are doing.
I know the PVF is in the middle of a struggle between stakeholders, and while both camps are busy claiming who is right and who is wrong, guys like Aguilar and Gendrauli are wondering what they are getting into.
The Bombarinas have bombed out before they could even take to the court.
(mikelimpag@gmail.com)
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