SIBU: Spring Fox Selangor head coach Goh Tzer Nam believes the Sarawak International Volleyball Invitation (SIVI) 2026 has provided invaluable exposure for his young squad, saying the tournament has accelerated their development against quality international opposition.
Goh said the tournament served as an ideal platform for his players to test themselves against experienced regional teams while gaining valuable match experience.
He explained that the Spring Fox Selangor squad was largely made up of Malaysia Games (SUKMA) players, reinforced by three Thai imports to strengthen the team for the international invitational tournament.
“This is actually our SUKMA team. We have 11 SUKMA players and also brought in three Thai players,”
“Because this is an international invitational tournament, we wanted to make it a higher-level competition. Everyone was looking forward to playing here,”he told Sarawak Tribune at the Sibu Volleyball Indoor Stadium recently.
Goh said competing against quality opponents from across the region had helped his players improve significantly throughout the tournament.
“Our players have improved a lot and learned many things from this tournament. It has been a very good experience for us,” he said.
Despite his satisfaction with the team’s performance, Goh believes there is still room for further growth.
“I think we can do even more in the future, and we will continue improving,” he said.
Spring Fox Selangor concluded their campaign on a high after defeating NOVA Volleyball Club in the third-place playoff to earn the bronze medal and a USD500 prize.
Encouraged by the standard of competition and the overall tournament experience, Goh also expressed his hope of returning for the next edition of SIVI.
“We hope to come back again next year,” he said.
SIVI 2026 featured five women’s teams — J Team Indonesia, NOVA Volleyball Club, Sarawak SUKMA, Spring Fox Selangor and Victory Volleyball Club from Hong Kong — bringing together 68 athletes, close to 70 players, for four days (Jul 4 to 7) of high-level competition in Sibu.
