MANILA – Creamline Cool Smashers expressed their happiness at the recruitment of their star setter Julia Morado-de Guzman to the Japanese V.League Division 1 squad Denso Airybees.
In a statement, the Cool Smashers admitted that Morado-de Guzman is a huge loss to their title defense in the Premier Volleyball League but are proud of her latest achievement in volleyball.
“Her dedication, skill, and leadership have been a cornerstone of Creamline’s success, and we have no doubt that she’ll leave an indelible mark wherever she goes,” team manager Alan Acero said.
“While we’ll undoubtedly miss her presence on the court, we wholeheartedly support her decision to pursue this unique opportunity. These next few months may mark a temporary separation, but they’ll also be a testament to our unwavering commitment to the team and our players’ overall development,” the team added.
Morado-de Guzman, for her part, said she was grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and was grateful to the Cool Smashers for accepting her decision.
“I know I won’t be playing volleyball forever, and this opportunity came at the perfect time for me to be able to pursue a lifelong dream of playing as an import setter,” she told ABS-CBN News.
“We know how important it is for me to be able to connect with the team, especially the spikers, so everyone has been actively teaching me how to speak some Japanese,” she added.
Morado-de Guzman is the second Filipina volleybelle in the upcoming Japan V-League season aside from Jaja Santiago, who recently transferred to JT Marvelous.
In the Airybees camp, the 28-year-old Morado-de Guzman will share the playmaking duties with the likes of Ayane Furuichi and Yuka Yamaguchi for the upcoming season.Morado-de Guzman will be joining the Airybees side that placed sixth in the 2022–23 Japan V-League Women’s Division 1 season with a 14–19 win–loss record./PN
