Champion spiker Asaka Tamaru is set to return to the PVL, this time with the young ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles.
Asaka Tamaru is already no stranger to the PVL.
During the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference, Tamaru led the Kurashiki Ablaze to the title, winning the Best Outside Spiker award in the process.
This time around, Tamaru will be bringing her talents to the rebranded ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, formerly known as Strong Group Athletics.
As she begins a new campaign in the PVL, the Japanese hitter already has her expectations set with her young teammates in ZUS Coffee.
“Each and every ZUS Coffee player has a lot of power, so I want them to be able to use that power,” Tamaru told One Sports in Japanese.
Having been in the Philippines for quite some time, Tamaru, who is also the assistant coach of the UE Lady Warriors, admitted some differences when playing in Japan and here in the country.
Under a new coach and a new system, Tamaru is looking to bring the Japanese style and discipline when playing volleyball to the Thunderbelles.
“The playing style and even the discipline are different from Japan, so I have some concerns, but I want to incorporate the good parts of each other and promote Philippine volleyball,” said Tamaru.
Though playing in different pools, Tamaru is also looking forward to competing against her husband, Shota Sato, who now coaches the Farm Fresh Foxies.
ZUS Coffee is placed in Group B, while Farm Fresh will compete in Group A.
“We had a practice match the other day but couldn’t win. I think it will be a while before we play Farm Fresh, so I [just] want to compete with the team and win,” said Tamaru.
Tamaru and the rest of the Thunderbelles will look to open their Reinforced Conference campaign with a win as they go up against the defending champions Petro Gazz Angels on July 18.