Angel Canino will be fielded as an opposite hitter for Alas Pilipinas in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women.
As Alas Pilipinas opens its 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women campaign later this evening, all eyes will be on the team’s starting lineup for the tournament.
One question among fans was who would be the team’s opposite hitter, given that most of the national team’s spikers are outside hitters.
Based on the team’s roster submitted to the AVC organizing committee, UAAP Season 85 MVP Angel Canino of De La Salle University will assume that role.
When asked about the decision to move Canino to the opposite hitter role, Alas Pilipinas head coach Jorge de Brito had a simple explanation.
“We don’t have opposites there [in the squad], so we had to try all the girls that we have. Arah [Panique] is the only one who’s really an opposite spiker there, but there are other girls who also have the background and played [opposite] before,” de Brito told reporters after watching the Australia-Chinese Taipei match on Wednesday.
[ALSO READ: Vietnam, Australia snap up opening-day victories in 2024 AVC Challenge Cup]
“Faith [Nisperos] played in Ateneo as an opposite. Also, Angel [Canino] played a long time ago as an opposite,” he added.
Given their short preparation for the tournament, adjustments will be key for Alas Pilipinas if they want to improve their finish this time around.
“We’re trying to adjust. That’s what we have to need here in the Philippines. Since the players are already there and we have the good players, we’ll go and try to fix this [as we go in the tournament],” said de Brito.
[ALSO READ: DLSU ace Angel Canino eyes higher level of play with Alas Pilipinas than her UAAP performances]
First up for Alas Pilipinas will be Australia later at 7:00 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila. It will air LIVE on One Sports, One Sports+, and the Pilipinas Live app.