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SOME of the top volleyball squads in the Visayas will be sending their marquee players to the Aznar Coliseum for the Philippine national team tryouts on March 8.

Some of the schools in Cebu that have confirmed the presence of their top players are the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF), University of San Carlos (USC), University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) and host team Southwestern University (SWU).

Schools from outside Cebu are also expected to send their players.

National team head coach Sammy Acaylar, who will be spearheading the tryouts, said they hope that the new set of national team players, who will be following a new program, will duplicate or even surpass the achievements of the national teams of the early 80’s.

Some of the members of those teams were from Cebu, like Grace Antigua, who now coaches USJR, Thelma Barina and the Jao sisters.

“Those who have a chance to join the national team are those who are graduating from college or those who have graduated already. The national team prefers players who are fresh graduates because these players can focus on their training,” said SWU athletics director Ryan Aznar.

SWU will be sending Danika Gendrauli and Raphril Aguilar, while USPF will be sending Apple Saraum.

Last year, Acaylar also helped oversee Aguilar’s and Gendrauli’s training with the SWU Lady Cobras during a brief visit.

This is the first time that the Philippine Volleyball Federation will conduct a tryout in Cebu.