Brooke Van Sickle is eager to play for the Philippine women's national volleyball team in the near future.
Brooke Van Sickle is raring to represent the Philippines, expressing her desire to be a part of the women’s national volleyball team in the future.
The Filipina-American outside hitter, whose mother hails from San Emilio, Ilocos Sur, shared her enthusiasm for the prospect of donning the tricolors of the country.
“It would be cool to be able to play for the Philippines, for sure. Like that’s definitely my goal – to be able to represent the Philippines,” Van Sickle said moments after producing a career-high 36 points in Petro Gazz’s win over Chery Tiggo on Thursday, May 9.
“I know like that’s kind of might be controversial but I just want to do my best for this country, and you know, just play volleyball and know all the girls and everything. So we’ll see. I mean, it’s not my decision, you know. I’m happy and grateful to have that opportunity if that does come, for sure.”
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PVL President Ricky Palou, who also serves as Vice President of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), confirmed to One Sports that the governing bodies have initiated the process of obtaining the necessary documentation and clearance from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) to facilitate Van Sickle's transfer from the U.S. federation to the Philippine federation.
When asked about the matter, the 26-year-old Van Sickle expressed her commitment to following through with the necessary steps.
“That’s the plan. So I had to fill up a bunch of paperwork coming up, so that I’m doing very shortly. So, yeah, I’m switching federations,” the do-it-all stalwart said.
Van Sickle admitted that she is unsure about the timeline and the specifics of the process, but her focus remains on doing what she can to make her dream a reality.
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"I don’t know," she said when asked about the expected time frame for the transfer.
"I have no idea how any of this works. I just do what I’m told. Yeah, it is what it is. We’ll see."
If the transition is successful, Van Sickle will have the opportunity to represent her maternal heritage on the international stage.
Beyond that, she will also get to play alongside the top talent in the local volleyball scene, an experience she's eagerly looking forward to.
“Yeah, I want to play with everyone. Everyone’s a great player. So just to have the opportunity to play with all these great players is awesome, and just to be able to slowly get to know everyone, I’m just so excited,” she said.