The Philippine men’s volleyball team pulled off a major accomplishment by leapfrogging 111 notches in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) world rankings released on Wednesday.
From its previous ranking of No. 167, the national men’s volleyball team moved up to No. 56 following two victories at the ongoing Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup for Men in Taipei.
“This is one big, major achievement for our men’s indoor volleyball team,” Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This is by far the most significant accomplishment by our men’s team and the PNVF, just under three years into its establishment as the national federation,” added the volleyball official.
The Philippines is one of only three of the 222 FIVB member nations to have made a major stride in the world rankings. Macau jumped from No. 165 to No. 58 and Mongolia from No. 164 to No. 59, with both countries also competing in Taiwan.
The national men’s team is composed of Vincent Raphael Mangulabanan, Noel Michael Kampton, Kim Harold Dayandante, Vince Patrick Lorenzo, Ryan Andrew Banez, Kim Malabunga, Jayvee Sumagaysay, Steve Charles Rotter, Adrian Villados, John Vic de Guzman, Joshua Umandal, Edward Camposano, Bryan Bagunas, Marck Jesus Espejo, Rex Emmanuel Intal, Madzlan Gampong, Lloyd Josafat, Cyrus de Guzman, Manual Sumanguid III, and Chumason Celestine Njigha.
The team is led by PNVF director Rod Roque and handled by Brazilian head coach Sergio Veloso, deputy coaches Odjie Mamon and Rommel Abella, team manager Jerome Guhit, strength and conditioning coach Melchidedek Samonte, and statistician Mark Gil Alfafara.
The nationals beat Macau, 25-21, 25-15, 25-14, last Sunday and Mongolia, 22-25, 25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 15-12, on Monday to reach the final 12 of the AVc Challenge Cup for Men at the University of Taipei Hall.
The Filipinos went on to give powerhouse Bahrain a scare before yielding, 25-20, 25-17, 25-23, at the resumption of play on Wednesday morning.
