MARCK Espejo will take his talents back to Japan in the third chapter of his international career in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The 27-year-old Alas Pilipinas standout signed with Japan V.League side Kubota Spears Osaka for the 2024-25 season after his title-winning campaign in Korea with Incheon Korean Air Jumbos.
Prior to his one-year Korea stint, Espejo previously played for Japanese club.Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler from 2018 to 2019 where his Alas cohort Bryan Bagunas also played.
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Most recently, he took on a tough task of playing for FC Tokyo at the height of the pandemic from 2021 to 2022.
Espejo confirmed his next move and fresh start in Japan on X/Twitter on Friday evening.
“We would like to inform you that Kubota Spears Osaka has signed a contract with Marck Espejo for the 2024-25 season,” the club wrote.
Shortly after his golden run in Korea, Espejo went back to the Philippines to join his Spikers’ Turf club Criss Cross.
They fell short of the championship following an emphatic two-game finals sweep at the hands of Bagunas and his perennial champion club Cignal in the 2024 Open Conference finals.
Espejo once again takes a step back from the local volleyball scene as he continues to his campaign abroad when the Japanese league kicks off on October.
But before that, national team duties await Espejo & Co. in the buildup to the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship as they take on the region’s best in the 2024 SEA V.League, with Leg 1 in Manila (Aug. 16 to 18) and Leg 2 in Indonesia (Aug. 23 to 25).
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