THE Philippines will mark its debut in the Asian Men's Volleyball Club Championship when it takes on Mongolia on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Power Pinoys take on the much taller Mongolians in the 2 p.m. game shortly after an elaborate opening ceremony, looking to get a head start in their bid to reach the knockout rounds.
"We are fully aware that if we lose the game it will be a little stiff to move up to the top eight," said Philippines coach Francis Vicente said in a press conference on Monday at the Mandarin Hotel.
"But we will try to do our best to win that game (against Mongolia)," he added.
The team will be led by team captain Ian Fernandez, JP Torres, Ron Jay Galang, Jeffrey Malabanan, Edjet Mabbayad, actor-sportsman Richard Gomez, and Australian reinforcements Cedric Legrand and William Robert.
"With hard work we will get what we want," said Vicente.
Mongolia, on the other hand, will try to make the most of its height advantage.
"This match is very hard, but our advantage is our height," said Mongolia coach Arunbayar Munkbayar through an interpreter.
Meanwhile, Vietnam and Lebanon will clash in the 4 p.m. main game, also at the MOA Arena.
Over at the Cuneta Astrodome, Turkmenistan will collide with Qatar at 2 p.m., Kazakhstan and Hong Kong will tangle at 4 p.m. and Papua New Guinea will face Chinese Taipei in the night game.
Although it will be their first time to competite in the AVCC, Papua New Guinea head coach Luikila Tommy said they will make life difficult for their opponents.
"I know this is our first time to join in this competition but we will give the other team a run for their money," he said.
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