2016 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : CES MOLINA AND MIKA REYES GETS LAST TWO GOLDEN TICKETS

Petron volleybelle Ces Molina and F2 Logistics and former Green Archer middle blocker Mika Reyes received the last 2 golden tickets and completes the line up of 7 local Pilipinas Super Liga players that will be included in the Philippine Team in the upcoming 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship.

Molina was a surprise addition to the team as her name was not as commomnly included in some of the sportswriters and fans wish list. This spiker from Nueva Ecija and a former San Beda Red Lion from NCAA is a reliable attacker of Petron. She will definitely contribute to the team in this aspect but we still need to see how her skills measure up with much taller blockers that are playing in the tournament. She is also part of the Petron team that competed in the Asian Club championship earlier this year. Her inclusion to the team was announced last July 24.

The sixth player to get the golden ticket is Ces Molina. @spinph @SuperLigaPH #PSLBlockbusterRematch pic.twitter.com/xzRSmkvJDo

— Mei-Lin Lozada (@meilinspin) July 24, 2016

The last golden ticket recipient was announced last July 28 when the league was in Batangas. The includion of Reyes, who is a reliable middle blocker and has been a consistent block points provider to her team, is no surprise to many. She was also named as the league's ambassador, replacing her F2 Logistics teammate Cha Cruz.

Mika Reyes gets the last Golden Ticket! @SuperLigaPH @PhilippineStar pic.twitter.com/0htBTEtmrU

— Joey Villar (@JoeySVillar) July 28, 2016

The local players are now complete - Rachel Ann Daquiz, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Kim Fajardo, Jen Reyes, Jaja Santiago, Molina and Reyes. They will be joined by 7 other imports who are still to be named.

The tournament will be held here in the Philippines on October 18 to 23, 2016 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Congrats Ces and Mika!

2016 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : JAJA SANTIAGO EARNS FIFTH GOLDEN TICKET

National University stand out Jaja Santiago has earned the 5th golden ticket to participate and represent the Philippines in the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship to be held here in Manila.

This was announced during the press conference introducing the team of Foton Philippines that will participate in the AVC Asian Women's Club Championship in Laguna on September.

Santiago is currently playing under Foton club team in Pilipinas Super Liga and is still playing for National University in the UAAP. She is a reliable middle blocker but has been seen training and playing as a spiker in the past few games. She previously turned down the offer of UCLA and choose to play her collegiate games locally with NU.

It is also rumored that several scouts are in town to watch Jaja in her games and possibly invite her to their foreign clubs. Jaja has also represented the Philippines in the 2014 Asian U23 Championship in Manila and the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

Here is a post from the Twitter account of Sports5 regarding the announcement :

We have a very special announcement! Jaja Santiago receives the 5th Golden Ticket! pic.twitter.com/yKTJDp1pkP

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) July 22, 2016

She now joins Rachel Ann Daquiz, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Kim Fajardo and Jen Reyes in the PSL All Star Team. We are just waiting for 2 more names of local players whch will play together with 7 imports during the FIVB tournament.

Congratulations Jaja!

2016 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : 8 PARTICIPATING TEAMS NAMED

The 8 teams that will participate in the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship has all been named after the last wildcard team was awarded the wildcard ticket.

The competition is slated to be held on October 18 - 23 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. This will be the first time that the Philippines will host the said tournament, and with the country hosting, we were allotted one slot in the competition.

Our team will be composed of 7 imports and 7 local players - which will be from the pool of the invited players currently participating in the Pilipinas Super Liga. The names of the seven local players that will be included will be revealed starting tomorrow during the league's game.

The other teams participating are (posts from the facebook pages of PVR : Philippine Volleyball Republic, and FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship)

1. 2016 European Champions - Pomi Casalmaggiore of Italy

2. 2015 Asian Champions - Bangkok Glass of Thailand

3. 2016 South American champions - Rexona Ades Rio of Brazil

4.  Wildcard - 2015 Champions Eczacıbaşı VitrA Voleybol of Turkey

5. Wildcard - Volero Zurich of Switzerland

6. Wildcard - VakıfBank Spor Kulübü of Turkey

7. Wildcard - Hisamitsu Springs of Japan

8. Hosts - PSL Team (7 locals and 7 imports)

The tournament will be a sure treat to all Filipino volleyball fans. It has been about 16 years since we last hosted a major FIVB tournament and it is about time since the sports is definitely getting a huge boost in popularity.