The Volcanoes targets both China and Malaysia as potential opportunities to progress to the final rounds
“China and Malaysia have shown both their team’s strengths and weaknesses, we aim to target those weaknesses to exploit potential opportunities for our team to get ahead. Sevens rugby is very unpredictable, so we have to be sure to control the game where we can and maximize our opportunities,” shared the Team Captain. The Asia Sevens Series is the premier Sevens competition in Asia, focusing only on the Top 8 teams across the region. Only the Philippines and Malaysia from Southeast Asia qualified for 2018. Thailand and Singapore have unfortunately been ranked outside the Top 8 nations since 2017. The United Arab Emirates booked their spot in next year’s Top 8 after defeating both Thailand and Singapore this year in the Asia Trophy Series. The Volcanoes have two legs remaining, after Korea the team travels to Sri Lanka for the third and final leg on October 12 to decide the final rankings for 2018.
“The Jets have an impressive local development program, they are fortunate to see their investment pay off with numerous players playing rugby at an impressive level now. I have witnessed their junior players rise, they will be hard to beat on Saturday,” shared Jake Letts of Philippine Rugby Eight teams across two pools in the Men’s division will play a total of 19 matches; the winner of each pool to be promoted straight to the Gold Medal match. The Jets have drawn the Makati Chiefs, Albany Bulkans and the Bulacan Bombers in Pool A. Pool B will see the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks, Eagles RFC, La Liga and Subic Sharks play on the opposite side of the draw.  Lito Ramirez of the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks testing the Clark Jets defense The 2018 Globe Sevens Series will feature 3 Festivals for the National Development Division. The Jets went undefeated in the first round and are looking to make it a clean sweep across all legs. The National Squad, the Globe Philippine Volcanoes will also be in attendance to see the future talent play. The national team currently prepares for the second round of the 2018 Asia Sevens Series at the same venue.  Members of the Clark Jets and the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks celebrate a muddy round 1 “It’s going to be a great day for Philippine Rugby; you have our local development players showcasing their skill in front of not only national selectors but also possibly their future teammates. Our National players will be volunteering on the day also, offering insight and advice to help inspire the next generation” Letts shared
Round 2 of the National Development Series will kick off at 9:00am at Southern Plains, Calamba.
“An overall fourth finish in Round 1 we are extremely proud of. It’s a long series, we travel for round 2 in Korea in two weeks, where we will get another shot for a medal place finishing,” added Jake Letts from Philippine Rugby The Volcanoes had six new faces for the national team, Donald Canon Coleman one of the best for the Philippines along with the likes of Howe, Timothy Bweheni and Joe Palabay Dawson. The Volcanoes finished top of the SEA Nations, Malaysia finished seventh overall. It’s the highest place in the Asia Sevens Series the Volcanoes have placed since they last qualified for the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Moscow in 2013. “In the past, we have finished as high as second and third, however since 2014 it’s been tough to finish on the podium. Rugby in Asia continues to rise and it’s good to see Philippine Rugby continues to show it has what it takes to compete at the highest level. A top four achievement is a great result for last weekend. Our challenge will be to remain consistent throughout the next two rounds. We had six new players for Hong Kong, so we will be gaining experience from this at look for a podium finish in two weeks” shared Letts. The Volcanoes are straight into preparations, with their training camp scheduled for Wednesday. All eyes are set on Korea for September 29 and 30.  Globe Philippine Volcanoes pose for a team photo at their Training Camp in Calamba
Coach Frano Botica adds to the team’s arsenal Donald Canon Colman, an experienced Filipino backrower from North Shore Rugby Club in New Zealand. Colman’s mother hails from Tarlac. Another exciting prospect is Mark Mapacpac Roberts, whose family is from Marinduque, will be utilized as a utility back for the Volcanoes. Robert Luceno Fogerty returns after making his impressive debut for the 15s program in June. Tim Alonso Berry gets the nod after an impressive training camp performance. Brothers Jerome and Ellis Padillo Rudder are also added to the team both playing high level Rugby in the United Kingdom. Overall the new talent ensures a new show for the Volcanoes. The Volcanoes will be led by experienced campaigners Christopher Arpon Bird who has been named Captain, and Harrison Carceller Blake as Vice Captain. Returning for national duties will be Vincent Amar Young, Timothy Bweheni, Joe Palabay Dawson and speedster Ryan Reyes Howe.
The Globe Volcanoes will face Korea at 2.42pm tomorrow afternoon and Malaysia at 6:00pm. Followed by Hong Kong on Saturday at 12:12pm. The finals to be seeded after the pool round matches. The games will be played at Hong Kong Football Club, matches to be streamed live on Facebook via Philippine Rugby 2018 Asia Sevens Series Team - Hong Kong 1. Harrison Carcellor Blake (VC) 2. Vincent Amar Young 3. *Ellis Padillo Rudder 4. *Mark Mapacpac Roberts 5. Timothy Bweheni 6. *Jerome Padillo Rudder 7. *Tim Alonso Berry 8. *Donald Canon Coleman 9. Christopher Arpon Bird (C) 10. Joe Palabay Dawson 11. *Robert Luceno Fogerty 12. Ryan Reyes Howe *Denotes debutant Coaching and Management Staff: Frano Botica David Johnston Chris Everingham Stephanie Yee  Globe Telecom CEO, Ernest Cu, with the Philippine Volcanoes  CEO Ernest Cu presents the Volcanoes national jersey to Mark Mapacpac Roberts  Ernest Cu, CEO of Globe Telecom The Philippine Volcanoes Men’s 7s team prepare for the first of a three-leg series against Asia’s top 8 rugby nations in Hong Kong this Friday and Saturday at Hong Kong Football Club The Volcanoes received a boost to their preparations as Globe Telecom’s CEO Ernest Cu gave an inspirational speech as he was elected to present to the jerseys for the 2018 Series Campaign. Globe Telecom inked a four-year partnership with the Volcanoes in 2017, which helped the Volcanoes win a Gold Medal at the 2017 Asia Trophy Series held in Doha last year. Since their investment, the Volcanoes have been able to invest more in the national team’s preparation to ensure success at the elite level. “Globe’s partnership for the Men’s 7s program provides a significant boost to help professionalize our program, competing with the likes of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and China, our athletes are expected to be in the best possible position to win. For this to have any chance, a large investment in resources, facilities and equipment will help the Volcanoes topple the top teams in Asia. We are very grateful for their support,” shared Jake Letts, the General Manager for Philippine Rugby. The funding provided from Globe Telecom is allocated to the National 7s Program and the local 7s domestic competition to help foster Philippine Rugby 7s talent. The Globe Sevens Series will see six Rugby Festivals played across 3 months within Luzon. The Volcanoes are currently preparing in a High-Performance Training Camp in Calamba, where a squad of 16 athletes have been vying for a position to be selected for Round 1 of the Asia Sevens Series.  National Team members at their High-Performance Training Camp in Calamba, Laguna 
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