Philsports Arena will serve as battleground when the Philippine women's volleyball team shoots for glory in the 30th Southeast Asian Games this November.
According to Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. (LVPI) president Peter Cayco, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) has assigned them at Philsports, a 10,000-seater gymnasium in Pasig City that is under the control of the Philippine Sports Commission.
Philsports Arena was the fourth venue that Phisgoc considered for volleyball.
Initially, the organizing body wanted volleyball to share a venue with basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena. But the plan was aborted and it was moved to Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Then, LVPI was told that volleyball would be held at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan City as the venue is already compliant with the standards of the Asian Volleyball Confederation after it hosted the AVC Asian Senior Women's Championship in 2016.
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"Volleyball — both men's and women's — will be held at Philsports," Cayco told *Daily Tribune*.
"Aside from Filoil (Flying V Centre) in San Juan, Philsports is also the home of Philippine volleyball. We're comfortable playing there."
Aside from serving as the home of the Philippine Basketball Association during its glory days from 1980 to 1999, Philsports Arena saw the birth of the Philippine Superliga as it hosted its first ever game in 2013.
> *I'm hoping and praying that the next glorious moment that will happen there is having our Philippine Team winning a medal in the Southeast Asian Games for the first time in 14 years.*
It also hosted the first ever international competition organized by LVPI when it was formed in 2015 — the AVC Asian U23 Women's Championship.
"There's really a lot of memories in Philsports Arena," said Cayco, noting that their ultimate goal is to win a medal for the first time since the 23rd SEA Games in Manila in 2005.
"I'm hoping and praying that the next glorious moment that will happen there is having our Philippine Team winning a medal in the Southeast Asian Games for the first time in 14 years."
Beach volley events, meanwhile, will be held in Subic.
