ANOTHER Petro Gazz Angel has left the camp of the reigning PVL Reinforced Conference champion as ace libero Bang Pineda jumped to Akari.
The Power Chargers welcomed the former Adamson standout on Monday in its quest to build a nest filled with former lady Falcons standouts.
Aside from Pineda, Akari also welcomed another former Lady Falcon in Eli Soyud.
The 5-foot-11 opposite spiker played for the PLDT High Speed Hitters for two seasons, but had limited playing time on the court. Soyud was a one-time UAAP champion at De La Salle before transferring to Adamson.
Pineda and Soyud are expected to boost the young-laden team which finished eighth in a field of nine teams in its PVL debut.
“As a long-time supporter of the Adamson volleyball program, we are happy to sign both Bang and Eli to the Chargers,” said Akari Sports director Russell Balbacal.
Pineda anchored the defense of the Angels enroute to their second Reinforced crown, averaging 2.70 excellent digs and 37.19% reception efficiency in the elimination round.
Despite being a key cog in Petro Gazz’s title run, Pineda jumped on the opportunity to be coached by a former Olympian.
“My main reason for choosing Akari is the coaching and program. Never ko pa na-experience ma-coach ng foreign coach, more so Olympian pa kaya isa yan sa talagang ni-lolook forward ko,” Pineda said of Akari’s head tactician and national team coach Jorge Souza de Brito.
De Brito was part of Brazil’s men’s volleyball team who won the gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The spiker-turned-libero will now man the floor defense of the Power Charges alongside Rachel Jorvina and Dani Ravena in its maiden Open Conference campaign set to kick off on February 4.
By: Jillian Velasco
https://www.spin.ph/volleyball/pvl/former-adamson-standouts-bang-pineda-eli-soyud-join-akari-a5136-20230109