All-conquering Glass vow not to take foot off pedal
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Reigning champions Bangkok Glass VC are a step away from retaining their Thailand League volleyball crown and representing the country in the Asian Women’s Club Championship for the second time in a row, but have nevertheless vowed to give their best in t
Bangkok Glass, powered by star spiker Pleumjit Thinkaow and Vietnamese national team captain Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa, have not lost a match and are on top of the standings in the eight-team Volleyball Thailand League with 31 points from 11 successive wins.
Trailing in second and third places are Idea Khonkaen and Supreme Chonburi E-Tech with 24 and 23 points. Bangkok Glass need a victory over Thai-Denmark Nongrua, who are in seventh place, at home tomorrow to keep their title, which would leave the matches against Supreme Chonburi E-Tech on February 27 and Idea Khonkaen on March 5 inconsequential.
“Anything can happen in our last three matches. Against Nongrua, we will play according to our game plan and not underestimate them. We will do our best to defend our title,” said head coach Kittipong Pornchartyingcheep, who steered Bangkok Glass to three major titles last year, including the Super League and the Asian Women’s Club Championship in Ha Nam, Vietnam.
“A win over Nongrua will get us the League crown and a chance to defend our Asian Women’s Club title in the Philippines this September. However, we will do our best in every match. I set the target of a top four finish in the Philippines. Repeating the feat of winning the title is a bit farfetched. I want my players to take one match at time and do their best,” he said.
Bangkok Glass became the first club from Thailand to win the Asian Women’s Club Championship last year, stunning title-holders Hisamitsu Springs of Japan in a five-set thriller. The team will be Asia’s representative in the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship from October 4 to 9 at a venue yet to be determined.
“The World Championship is months away and we haven’t thought about it much. Right now our focus is on the remaining three matches in the Thailand League,” he said.
After the conclusion of the Thailand League on March 5, Bangkok Glass will play the Super League where only the top six teams from the Thailand League will compete.
“Two Vietnamese players in our team, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa and Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, cannot participate in the Super League as they will be competing in the VTV Cup back home. Only the Thai players will be involved. Nevertheless, we will try to sign some spikers from outside. We need to retain our Super League title,” he said.
