Three Takes From The National Women's Volleyball Team Selection

So, the list has finally come out. Here are the fourteen women tasked to lift Philippine women's volleyball to the next level:

Aby Marano (Team Captain), Alyssa Valdes, Jaja Santiago, Dawn Macandili, Kim Fajardo, Jia Morado, Ces Molina, Majoy Baron, Kim Dy, Mika Reyes, Cha Cruz, Dindin Manabat, with Denden Lazaro and Rhea Dimaculangan on the reserve list.

Here are my three takes from this list:
Take #1: Isn't the team a bit...uhm, unbalanced? I look at the inital 12-person lineup and I see so many middle blockers but just 1 libero. Are we then banking on dominating the aerial battle at the net, rather than the trench warfare on the floor? Also, heavens forbid that Dawn Macandili have a bad day at the office (or worse, gets injured) because we may then have to test Cha Cruz-Behag's on-court versatility.


Take #2: Again, I may be mistaken, but don't we have players with basically the same skill sets? Mika Reyes = Dindin Manabat= Majoy Baron

Jaja Santiago avoids that list because she's got way better technique than the other three while Aby Marano brings other intangible to the table so the question really is do we need really need three version fo the same player?

Take #3: How do MJ Phillips and Myla Pablo not make this team? Both are high scoring attackers who are as comfortable as an opposite hitter as they are an open hitter. Is Kim Dy (whom I love as a player) really better than either of them already?

Here are some highlights of MJ Phillips and Myla Pablo:

Is there really no need for that kind of firepower from the sides? Or do we get to see Dindin and Jaja take the open spots?

Of course, these are just inital takes on the lineup. I'm sure the coaching staff has something up their sleeves. And it goes without saying that we should support these ladies 100% as they try to bring honro and pride to the country.