One for volleyball!!! EDITORIAL EDITORIAL: No room for crabs in Philippine volleyball By Rivals PH onNovember 27, 2014 771SHARES 1 COMMENT MIX GATPANDAN/RIVALS PH MANILA – You can always tell that a sport is on the rise in the country when officials are roused from the comfort of their slumber and start poaching positions in the national federation. Take this, for example. Just when the current leadership of the Philippine Volleyball Federation has begun to make inroads in building a steady national team and grassroots program to push the sport further in and out of the country, this happens. And just when the government, private institutions, leaders, athletes, fans and stakeholders have started to unite, the PVF’s dark past rears its ugly head yet again. Last Sunday, Boy Cantada was named chairman of the PVF in an election participated in by six board members – less than half of the 14 total board members of the federation. Joining him in the meeting were president on-leave Gener Dungo, Artagnan Yambao, Dulce Pante, Victor Abalos and Virginia de Jesus. In a press statement, Cantada said his group only wants “to get the PVF back on its feet as a truly working sports association headed by legitimate members” and added the “association has practically ceased to effectively serve the athletes and all volleyball programs following the demise of former chairman Pedro Mendoza Jr.” Perhaps in his private corner of the volleyball kingdom, where he can pretend his beach volleyball tournaments are the Grand Prix of an enviable grassroots infrastructure, Cantada has been misled to believe there is a leadership vacuum in volleyball. To bridge the disconnect, here is an FYI to Mr. Cantada: Semi-pro and collegiate leagues are blossoming left and right, senior and youth national teams are getting the training and exposure they badly need, and coaches, players and referees in the countryside are being equipped in both theory and practice. Volleyball has never been so popular in the country as it is now, and the sport is bound to get bigger, with the PVF lining up programs in coordination with the FIVB, which has given its seal of approval to the current leadership headed by acting president Karl Chan and secretary-general Otie Camangian. It hasn’t been easy for Chan and Camangian to pull volleyball up from the doldrums where Dungo dragged the sport into during his controversy-hounded stint at the helm. In less than 18 months, the new leadership has done more than what Dungo achieved since he took over as president in 2010. We were able to send national teams to at least four continental tournaments, with the men’s senior and girls’ youth squads registering their best finishes in recent history. Likewise, the PVF also helped national teams with trainings in Korea and Thailand, hosted the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championships at the world-class Mall of Asia Arena and successfully bid for the holding of the Asian U-23 Women’s Championships in May 2015. To say that the PVF has been on a roll of late would be a gross understatement, and all stakeholders – from fans to athletes to coaches – have benefited from all these developments. With private support and government recognition coming in, Philippine volleyball is close to realizing its potential to be a Southeast Asian powerhouse. What befuddles us is why Cantada, Dungo and company are suddenly making noise and implying that the current PVF leadership is illegitimate. The timing – and more importantly, the intentions – of these moves are highly questionable and renders unnecessary uncertainty to what is now a relatively harmonious volleyball community. Let us give Chan and Camangian the chance to finish what they’ve started. If and when they fail, then let’s look for people who can get the job done for Philippine volleyball. Dungo has had his time running the show, and if we look at the results, then there is nothing really to be proud of. Divisiveness is the last thing we need as our national teams prepare for the Southeast Asian Games next year in Singapore. More than ever, we need to unite. More than ever, we need to be focused. More than ever, we have to back the leadership that brought us here. One for the future. One for Philippine volleyball. – Rivals 2014
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 12:09:15 +0000
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