Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Ricardo 'Ritchie' Garcia will be the guest of honor and main speaker when the PLDT Home Fibr Asian Club Men's Volleyball Championship fires off on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
To accommodate all 16 teams divided into four groups, matches will also be simultaneously held at the Cuneta Astrodome, also in Pasay City, for the duration of the prestigious meet from April 8-16.
Garcia has welcomed the new leadership of the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) after more than a decade of inactivity. And in less than a year since its reorganization, the PVF is now playing host to the AMCC.
The PVF is now led by newly-elected president Karl Chan and secretary general Otie Camangian.
The tournament is backed by Mikasa, Healthway Medical, Maynilad, Gerflor Spurway, Senoh Equipment, STI, PSC, Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto and MMDA Chairman Atty. Francis Tolentino.
Tickets are now available online at http://www.smtickets.com/ and all SM ticket outlets.
The Philippines is also fielding in a team in the AMCC for the very first time. It will carry the banner of PLDT HOME TVolution team, also known as the Power Pinoys, and led by JP Torres, Ron Jay Galang, Jeffrey Malabanan, Alnakran Abdilla, and actor-sportsman Richard Gomez.
Australian players Cedric Legrand and William Robert Lewis will reinforce the Philippine team.
National Coach Francis Vicente will announce the other members of the team soon.
The Philippines is in Group A along with Iraq and Mongolia while regional powerhouses, Iran and Japan, together with Lebanon and Vietnam, are in Group B.
Group C features last year's runners-up, Qatar and Kazakhstan, along with Oman, Hong Kong and Turkmenistan.
Group D is led by powerhouse China, with the United Arab Emirates, Papua New Guinea and Chinese Taipei.
Iran is feared most in this tournament powered by PLDT HOME Fibr, PLDT HOME’s most powerful broadband, which will be brought to Filipino sports fans via live streaming and replay-on-demand on TVolution – another milestone in sports entertainment.
All games by the Philippine Team will also be televised live on TV5, the official broadcast partner of the AMCC.
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