Thai imports making presence felt in V-League
They're making sure their salaries are worth it.
A slew of Thai reinforcements have been lording it over the Shakey's V-League so far, with three of the top four scorers in the tournament being powerful volleybelles from our Southeast Asian neighbor.
Returning import Jang Bualee, now in her 10th conference in the country's premiere volley tilt, leads the 10-team field with a 26.5 points per game clip, overpowering foes with a combination of power and grit that has catapulted her San Sebastian College squad to an unbeaten record after the first week.
Jang Bualee
Out to redeem herself after nine fruitless campaigns, Bualee has drilled in 51 kills and served up a couple of aces in carrying the Lady Stags into the quarterfinals.
"I just want my team to win," Bualee said after their four-set conquest of favored Adamson last Thursday.
Her compatriots are also making their presence felt, with youngsters Utaiwan Kaensing and Pormnipol Kumbang lifting their respective squads to victory.
Utaiwan Kaensing
Utaiwan, who plays as a middle blocker for the Thai national team, has been the darling of the tournament so far, her infectious smile and joy while playing captivating fans and non-fans of University of Santo Tomas alike.
She's not all charisma, though, as the "Thai-gress" has piled up 17 points per outing highlighted by 11.5 spikes, 3.5 blocks and two aces every time she suits up. Add to that the fact that her hulking six-foot-two frame has intimidated opponents in the Tigresses' run to the quarterfinals.
Young as she may be, Pormnipol, only 19 and a former captain of the Thailand national junior volleyball squad, has shown big-game props and scored the game-winning block when they edged National University by a hairline in five sets last week.
Pormnipol scored 18 points in that outing and served as a perfect complement to high-scoring attacker Sandra delos Santos, who came away with a game-best 26 markers.
Likewise, Kesinee Lithawat of defending champion Ateneo de Manila University hasn't reached peak form yet but has been a stable presence in coach Roger Gorayeb's rotation, protecting the net for the Lady Eagles and norming 12.5 points a game.
The same can be said of Eve Sanorseang, Far Eastern University's import, who scored 10 markers in her return to Philippine competition after a five-year absence. The Lady Tamaraw last played as a reinforcement for De La Salle University in 2007.
Eve Sanorseang
Perhaps, the biggest disappointment so far has been ex-Thai national team captain Patcharee Sangmuang, who has apparently been slowed down by age as evident in their two losses marred by lackluster performance.
The 34-year-old spiker has only managed to post eight points per game as Letran slid to the backend of their group after being thumped by the Lady Stags and the Tigresses in ugly losses.
Nevertheless, as Sports Vision president Moying Martelino said, Thai imports are good for the league, as they "force" the locals to bring their game notches higher, thus, resulting to stiffer and tighter competition.
And after one week of competition, Martelino's vision is ringing true.
