ALYSSA Valdez, the face of Philippine volleyball, has given up her final six spot in the reality show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) to join the national team in gunning for a medal finish in the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games (SEA) slated for May 12 to 23.
“I have commitments to attend to for our country. The national team is preparing for the forthcoming SEA Games. And for this reason, I cannot fulfil my obligation and cannot return to your house,” Ms. Valdez told PBB’s Big Brother in YouTube on Sunday.
Ms. Valdez will be one of the biggest stars in the national squad that is eyeing nothing less than a podium finish and, if possible, a first gold medal since the country struck one in the 1993 Singapore SEA Games.
Also part of the Nationals are Jaja Santiago, Kalei Mau, Kat Tolentino, and Dawn Macandili.
The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Finals MVP and her teammates recently arrived from weeks long training in Brazil where they also played some pickup games with the Brazilian juniors squad and some local club teams.
The Filipinas will have their hands full though as they were the only ones in the sport who failed to bring home a medal in the last edition of the biennial meet three years ago in Pasig.
The men’s team brought home a silver medal while the men’s and women’s beach volley squads snared a bronze each. Thanks to their Brazil training, Ms. Valdez and company hope they won’t miss a beat this time. — Joey Villar