Akari coach cites PVL changes

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine national women’s volleyball and Akari head coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito said yesterday the myriad coaching and player changes in the PVL All-Filipino Conference are good for fans and the league, calling it a challenge for the nine competing teams to cope with the movements.

“The most impactful coaching change is Dante (Alinsunurin) of Choco Mucho,” said De Brito on PlayItRightTV. “He’s coming from coaching the national men’s team. But he’s not the only one. Oliver (Almadro) is now with Petro Gazz. It’s always a big challenge when you change systems. Only three teams didn’t make coaching changes, Akari, Cignal with Shaq (de los Santos) and Creamline with Sherwin (Meneses). As for players, I think Myla (Pablo) moving to F2 is the most significant change with (Tin) Tiamzon’s retirement.”

De Brito said the Power Chargers got a boost with the addition of Dindin Manabat, Bang Pineda, Eli Soyud and Camille Victoria. “With Bang, we have three good liberos (aside from Dani Ravena and Raia Jorvina),” he said. “Dindin is a special player. We made the first step. We were not the only option for a player of her caliber. We are always going after the best. Eli has a lot of potential and we will give her the best training to develop her. Camille surprises us every day at practice. She will help as a middle blocker. Our new players are a fit and it’s important because this is All-Filipino.”

Ravena said it’s a blessing that she’s able to learn from Pineda and Manabat. “I look up to Ate Bang, she’s my idol and an amazing athlete,” she said. “We added veterans to our team and it’s a perfect balance. They help us a lot in training especially since we’re a young team. As coach Jorge always reminds us, competition doesn’t start when we face our opponents, it starts in training. It’s a challenge to do better for yourself and our team. I never imagined Ate Dindin would be my teammate. With her experience, we’ll be a better team.”

Akari setter Michelle Cobb said the team will carry over lessons from its experience in the PVL Reinforced Conference where the Power Chargers wound up eighth with a 3-5 record. “In our first tournament together, we were testing how we move,” she said. “We learned that when we get a chance to win, we should be there. Definitely, this conference, we hope to be in the groove, trying to win every game.”