TWO foreign guest teams are set to shake up an already-packed field in the ongoing 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
On Thursday, the league revealed its newest competing squads — Japan's Kurashiki Ablaze and Vietnam's Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh Women's Volleyball Team.
Both teams will enter the single-round robin semifinal round with the top two local teams from each pool in the preliminaries.
Young guns of Kurashiki
The Japan-based Kurashiki squad currently plays in the third division of the V.League and is only in its fourth year of play.
Ablaze also copped back-to-back bronze medals in Japan's National 6-Person Final League in 2022 and 2023.
Its youngest player, setter Wako Omura, was born in 2001 while opposite hitter Reina Fujiwara stands as the club veteran born in 1997.
Also worth noting is how Kurashiki once welcomed three Filipina imports during the pandemic-stricken 2020-21 season in under-the-radar stars Shirley Salamagos, Carrie Pronuevo, and Javen Sabas.
Kinh Bac flying in
Meanwhile, two years older than Ablaze is two-time Vietnam League bronze medalist Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh (2019 and 2020).
The club was once home to veteran 36-year-old Thai open hitter Onuma Sittirak, who currently plays for Coach Tai Bundit's champion team Nakhon Ratchasima in the Volleyball Thailand League.
Compared to its fellow guest side, Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh has an older core in Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh (1990) on top of a much younger crop of talent with five players born from 2003 onwards.
Both Kurashiki and Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh will battle it out with the top four local teams in the PVL Invitationals' single-round robin semifinal round starting July 20 at the PhilSports Arena.
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