Wazzup Pilipinas!
Your friendly neighborhood pambansang blogger was invited to witness the U19s Junior Volcanoes Jersey Presentation hosted by FILA Philippines. The event was held last December 8, 2014 at the 2nds Restaurant located at Bonifacio Global City.
The U19s in their name stands for Under19s which means these juniors are below 19 years of age. They are being groomed as the next generation of Philippine volcanoes. This youth national program is a stepping stone in the right direction for young Filipino heritage rugby players to represent their country on the world stage.
The U19s Junior Volcanoes have had a long standing history of being one of the most dominant Division 2 teams since it s inception back in 2006. The Junior Volcanoes were crowned Champions 2006, 2009 and 2010. With a three year absence, it’s great opportunity to re-ignite the next generation of future Philippine rugby players to one day become Philippine Volcanoes.
Much like the mean's team, the U19s Junior Volcanoes is a mix of homegrown talent and overseas-based players with Filipino lineage. The squad of 30 players that have been selected to participate in the training camp will be reduced to 23 players as the tournament draws near.
I was seated among these guys at one table, while the rest of the team was at the other tables. While a few of my Junior Volcanoes seatmates were joking around and teasing fellow juniors (like Jonel Madrona), most of them were quiet, well-behaved and mild-mannered. The senior Philippine Volcanoes preferred to stand and chat with the coaches and other guests while drinking wine and munching on the Bacon Chicharon and Chicken Adobo Croquettas that 2nds Restaurant was offering around.
The chattering from everyone was broken when Tim Yap and Tessa-Prieto-Valdez start to appear on stage and announce the start of the program. Tim Yap was wearing a Fila jacket while Tessa was wearing a Santa-inspired outfit perfect for the coming Christmas season. The two were our host for the night announcing the U19 jersey presentation that will happen after everyone had dinner.
But before they ended this segment of the presentation, an acknowledgement towards the senior Philippine Volcanoes was held as the hosts invited them over on stage for recognition and some photo opportunities.
Ms. Cris Albert was also invited for a short speech who later on also called his son Carlo, a proud member of the Junior Volcanoes, for a short message. Carlo came up on stage and said “We would like to thank our sponsors… my mom.” Everyone laughed out loud. A toast also took place holding up wines personally handed by Mr. Ralph Joseph of Ralph’s Wines and Spirits.
Dinner was served while a duet on stage serenaded us with some popular melodies, including some fast beats that encouraged one of the U19s Junior Volcanoes to stand up and dance a little to the beat. Later, he even stepped up on stage for everyone to see him do some steps.
The Seabass Sinigang soup was just right for the cold weather that night. I actually braved the night just to get to the event since it was raining non-stop since that morning and there was an impending storm predicted to arrive later that night. The Smoked Caprese Salad whet the appetite into a frenzy. The guys and I shared the main dishes namely servings of Beef Rib Adobo, Lamb Shank Caldereta Grattin, and Healthy's Pan Roasted Honey Mustard Chicken was filing and lastly are desserts of Frozen Hazelnut Cheesecake and Calamansi Lime Pie. Since the U19s Junior Volcanoes are all under 19, there were lemonade, iced teas and colas served aside from the red wine, white wine and beer.
The Jersey Presentation continued with Mr. Matt Cullen, the Director for Rugby of the Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU), leading the presentation. Ms. Cris Albert was again invited on stage to personally hand over the jerseys to each member of the U19s Junior Volcanoes. More photos from the team will be posted on the Wazzup Pilipinas Facebook fan page soon.
Mr. Cullen has announced that there would be a two-day, four-nation tournament as the PRFU hosts the Asian Under 19s Division 2 Championships that will pit the Philippine Volcanoes Under 19s team against teams from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The young Volcanoes will go head-to-head with our neighbors from South East Asia on December 10 and 13, and will be played at the Southern Plains in Laguna.
Stu Woodhouse from Australia, who also coaches the Volcanoes Men's 15s team, will take the reins as Head Coach of the Under 19s squad.
Now, these dates would be very interesting to witness as our U19s Junior Volcanoes first compete against Singapore while the winning team from the other two countries will battle against the other winners. Let's hope it will be the u19s Junior Volcanoes who will once again compete on the 13th. Another match against either Malaysia or Thailand will sure raise the energy level of not only the U19s Junior Volcanoes but also of the Filipino people.
Some more photos below from the event while more photos will be available soon at the Wazzup Pilipinas Facebook fan page.
Again, more photos will be available soon at the Wazzup Pilipinas Facebook fan page.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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