"No newcomers showed overwhelming skills"...Tryout focuses on V-League experiences
"No newcomers showed overwhelming skills"...Tryout focuses on V-League experiences
Blog Article
Amid the ongoing tryout of foreign professional volleyball players, the selection of players who have been proven in the V League seems to be gaining weight.
In the tryout, which opened in Istanbul, Turkiye on the 6th, a practice game was held on the 7th to check the players' performance, following medical tests and physical measurements on the first day.
The final participants in the tryout were 30 men's and 34 women's.
This is a decrease of nine and three from 39 and 37 finalists, excluding nine who applied for a tryout (3 men's and 6 women's) among those who completed the 2024-2025 season.
There were 12 additional absentees due to signing contracts with other teams, delayed visa issuance, injuries, and schedule of games for their teams and national teams.
The Cuban national team's Apogit Spiker Jesús Herrera, who was considered a big man in the men's team, re-signed his team, and the same Cuban-born Apogit Spiker Miguel Gutierrez also gave up participating in the tryout by signing with another team.
Also absent were Luis Elian, who led KEPCO's early splash in the 2024-2025 season, and Thomas Edgar, who played for LIG Insurance for two seasons from the 2013-2014 season.
In the women's division, Barbara Zavic, who was named to Pepper Savings Bank in the 2024-2025 season and was initially expelled, did not participate due to the "club team schedule."
While the performance of the participants was roughly confirmed in the practice game on the 1st day on the 7th, the general evaluation is that no player showed overwhelming performance in both the men's and women's faces.
For this reason, weight is being put on the players who have previously played on the Korean stage.
Among the players who played in the 2024-2025 season, "Cuba Express" Gisele Silva (registered name Silva) who played for GS Caltex in the women's division completed his contract early.
Among the male players who applied for a tryout, Leonardo Leyva Martinez (registered Leo), who took the lead in achieving Hyundai Capital's treble (winning the cup tournament, No. 1 in the regular league, winning the championship game), is likely to renew his contract.
Kyle Russell (registered name Russell), who led copyright's advance to the championship, and Andres Villena (registered name Villena), who won the top scorer at KB Insurance, are also looking forward to renewing their contracts with their original teams.
In addition, Mihil Ahi (registered name Ahi) who played for Woori Card in the 2024-2025 season and Mattei Kok (registered name Mattei) who played for Woori Card in the 2023-2024 season were also reported to have been impressed.
Among the new faces, Sharon Benan Evans (copyright), an apogee spiker for the Sakai Blazers in Japan's first division, middle blocker Jose Maso, who played for the Cuban national team, and outside heater Denislav Valdarov, who played for the Bulgarian national team, drew attention.
An official from the men's team said, "There are only 30 players participating in the tryout and the skills of the big fish players are not meeting expectations, so there is a high possibility that the proven players will be nominated."
The women's situation is not much different.
With six clubs except GS Caltex on the hunt for foreign players, preference for players who have played in the V League is high.
Heungkuk Life Insurance, which achieved an integrated championship in the 2024-2025 season, is struggling between renewing its contract with Tutku Bourge (registered name Tutku), the main player of the championship, or selecting a new player, but there is a high possibility of renewing its contract.
IBK Industrial Bank of Korea is also leaning toward renewing its contract with Victoria Danchak (registered Victoria), who ranked second (910 points) in the scoring category in the 2024-2025 season.
In addition, Letizia Moma Vasoko (registered name Moma) who played for Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Merelin Nicolova (registered name Nicolova), a former member of the Korea Expressway Corporation, are also expected to renew their contracts or nominate other clubs.
In addition, Korean-American Rebecca Lashem, who wore the IBK Industrial Bank uniform in the 2021-2022 season, and Willow Johnson (USA), who played for Heungkuk Life as the daughter of "Big Unit" Randy Johnson, are also inflating expectations for a re-entry to the V-League.
Among the new challengers, Apogit Spiker Elisa Zanetti (Italy), who was rated first by two clubs, and outside heater Kudryashova (Russia), who received the top score from one club, and Apogit Spiker Joe Weatherington (USA) were reportedly well received. 메이저놀이터
Meanwhile, the draft for selecting players will be carried out at 11 a.m. local time on the 9th, followed by the women's team at 2 p.m.
Based on the 2024-2025 season's performance, a total of 140 beads will be added to determine the order of nomination, with 35 seventh, 30 sixth, 25 fifth, 20 fourth, 15 third, 10 second, and 5 first.