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Leila Barros will get to witness how far volleyball has come 25 years since she first captured the hearts of Filipinos because the Brazilian returns to the Philippines as visitor of honor within the FIVB Males’s World Championship
MANILA, Philippines – There’s an abundance of things for the recognition that volleyball enjoys immediately within the nation, and one of many central figures within the rise of the game is Brazilian icon Leila Barros.
Barros will get to witness how far volleyball has come 25 years since she first captured the hearts of Filipinos as she returns to the Philippines as visitor of honor within the closing of the FIVB Males’s World Championship in September.
“What a pleasure will probably be to reconnect with these passionate volleyball followers,” mentioned Barros, who’s now 53 years outdated and serves as a senator in Brazil.
“It’s with a coronary heart filled with gratitude that I obtain this very particular invitation. Returning to the Philippines, the place I’ve at all times been welcomed with such heat, is extremely thrilling.”
Leila Mania
Rocking an elegant bob and armed with a imply lefty assault, Barros rapidly endeared herself to followers when the nation hosted the ultimate spherical of the 2000 FIVB World Grand Prix.
Followers packed the PhilSports Enviornment in Pasig to cheer for Barros, who helped lead Brazil to the bronze medal as they scored a 12-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-18 win over China within the third-place match.
The Philippines’ internet hosting of the Grand Prix lasted for simply round per week, however Barros’ magnificence, allure, and fierceness had been so fascinating that her Filipino supporters got here with banners that learn, “Leila, will you marry me?”
Some even discovered Portuguese to get their devotion throughout.
It was such a quick however memorable stint that Barros fondly remembered the admiration she obtained from Filipino followers over a decade later.
“The Philippines lives in my coronary heart. All of you lives in my coronary heart,” Barros mentioned in a video message in 2013.
“I immensely missed the nice and cozy welcome from all of you — the love and the heat of the Filipino folks. I missed you all a lot.”
After that Grand Prix run, Barros and Brazil gained their second straight Olympic bronze medal within the 2000 Sydney Video games a month later as they swept the US within the battle for third.
Lasting impression
Barros impressed numerous of younger Filipino ladies to pursue volleyball as she sparked curiosity within the sport.
Former Ateneo star Charo Soriano wore No. 8 in honor of Barros, whereas Creamline center blocker Pau Soriano obtained into volleyball due to the Brazilian belle.
“I idolized Leila Barros of Brazil so I began enjoying volleyball at an early age,” Soriano instructed Rappler in Filipino in 2013.
Barros even had a hand in Alas Pilipinas head coach Jorge de Brito deciding to take his act to the Philippines.
“Leila as soon as instructed me that if ever it struck my thoughts to maneuver elsewhere, I needs to be shifting to the Philippines,” De Brito, who can also be Brazilian, mentioned in 2021.
Alas Pilipinas has made large strides with De Brito on the helm because the staff gained its first-ever silver medal within the 64-year historical past of the AVC after reaching the finals of the Girls’s Nations Cup for the primary time earlier this yr.
So when it was introduced that Barros will grace the upcoming worlds, Filipino followers had been fast to specific their pleasure for the prospect to see her once more after plans for her Manila return in 2016 fell by means of.
Barros feels simply as ecstatic.
“See you quickly!” mentioned Barros. – Rappler.com
