A PERENNIAL national team fixture, John Vic De Guzman is ready to help Rebisco in the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship which gets going today in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
The Philippines debuts in Pool B against Iran’s Sirjan Foulad at 11 a.m. (Manila time), with De Guzman promising modest expectations.
“We came here for exposure and experience. Of course, we want to win, but our opponents are no pushovers,” De Guzman said. “But we need to compete against them to get better.”
Rebisco will miss outside hitters Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas, who are both playing in the Japan V. League.
Playing for the first time since the historic silver medal run of the national men’s team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, De Guzman is feeling good to represent the country anew in this extraordinary time.
“We’re happy to be playing again, but of course, we cannot say if we can go 100 percent because the pandemic stopped sports back home,” he said. “And of course, the risk of getting the virus is there.”
The team, whose participation in Thailand is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Rebisco, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and Asics, trained for two months in a bubble facility in Lipa City.
