Marck Espejo remains committed to national team despite another overseas stint

Marck Espejo may be on his way for another international stint but his commitment to the flag will always remain.

National team head coach Dante Alinsunurin stressed that the high-flying open spiker will continue honoring his duties to the country despite an offer to play again as an import in the Japan V. League for FC Tokyo.

"Of course. He will always be committed to the national team and that was never a question for Marck," Alinsunurin said in Filipino in an interview with GMA News Online.

"I'm happy for him and I know he can really develop his skills there and hopefully, that would be an advantage for us come the tournaments like SEA Games."

Alinsunurin is positive that the 24-year-old Espejo would make waves in Japan.

After all, this will not be the first time that he's suiting up as an import in an overseas league as he had already seen action in V. League in 2018 with Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler.

The former Ateneo skipper also played in Thailand for Visakha in the Volleyball Thailand League then recently, he brought his act to Bahrain when he powered Bani Jamra in the Bahrain Volleyball League.

"I know Marck and I know he can adapt well to every situation and this opportunity will only come often so I'm happy he grabbed it," Alinsunurin added.

"His experiences and learnings there will help us because Marck is really one of our go-to guys in both offense and defense."

Alinsunurin said Espejo will still be part of the national team come the 2021 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games where they are eyeing to cop the elusive gold medal after finishing with a silver in 2019.

The current National University mentor added that he would actually encourage his players to try their luck abroad as, according to him, it will only help the team in the long run since they will have international exposure and experience when facing elite teams around the globe.

"Actually, I would like it if my players are playing abroad. It would be a good sign for the country because other teams are noticing the program," he said.

"It's the country who will benefit if our players are playing abroad and after all, they're still representing the Philippines abroad."

—JMB, GMA News