After a runner-up finish in Spikers’ Turf Open Conference, Umandal and company shift focus to national team duties.
Newly-minted Spikers’ Turf Open Conference MVP Jau Umandal will reinforce the men’s volleyball national team that will vie for honors in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Joining Umandal, who asked for more support for men’s volleyball, in the lineup are Cotabato Spikers teammates Vince Mangulabnan, Lloyd Josafat, Kim Harold Dayandante, Vince Patrick Lorenzo, and Jayvee Sumagaysay, and Steven Charles Rotter.
Mangulabnan is appointed team captain of the team which is hoping to make a splash after a podium finish in the 2019 edition of the Games in Manila.
Fresh from their astonishing 15-0 conquest in the Spikers’ Turf, Manuel Sumanguid III was also named to roster released by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.
Rounding out the 14-man lineup are: Rwenzmel Taguibilos (NU-Archipelago Builders), Leo Ordiales (NU-Archipelago Builders), Jay Rack Dela Noche (University of Santo Tomas Tiger Spikers), Jade Alex Disquitado (D’Navigators Iloilo), and Fil-Ams Cyrus Justin de Guzman and Michael Raymund Vicente.
Meawhile, Ran Abdilla, Jaron Requinton, Jude Garcia, and James Buytrago make up the men’s beach volleyball team.
“These teams are composed of perhaps the most formidable roster to date with each and everyone of these athletes dedicated and determined to rise to the challenge in Cambodia,” said PNVF president Tats Suzara in the Spikers’ Turf website.
“With the skills given and dedication to flag and country considered, our coaches put premium on chemistry, on how these players would blend based on the competitions and challenges of the SEA Games."