POC to probe ouster of national spikers

The fate of the rp men’s volleyball team will be known today when the philippine olympic committee’s technical commission meets to decide if it will still allow the national spikers to compete in the hanoi southeast asian games set dec. 5-13.

Nestor Ilagan, a member of the body screening national athletes going to Vietnam, said his group will meet with the Philippine Amateur Volleyball Association to ask why it overhauled the team with less than a month to go before the biennial meet starts.

"We’ll just ask the volleyball group to make justifications as to the sudden change of the lineup," said Ilagan.

Volleyball found itself in a jam when seven spikers — Joel Solis, Melvin Lopez, Angelito Pesa, Anthony Atienza, Chizon Escosio, Jerome Capada and Jukkran Hamdam — were either removed or withdrew from the team.

Ilagan said the original team was approved because of its height and overhauling it at this point in time would create double standards since football was turned down since it could not come up with seven Fil-foreign booters as earlier promised.

Also part of the agenda is the progress report regarding the technical aspects of the country’s participation in the 11-nation conclave. Ilagan was part of the RP delegation that represented the country in the chef de mission meeting in Hanoi late last month.