Claim: The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) is currently processing the naturalization of Russian outside hitter and Capital1 Solar Spikers import Marina Tushova.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The claim has been posted on different volleyball-related Facebook pages after Tushova set a new Premier Volleyball League (PVL) single-game scoring record of 49 points against the NxLed Chameleons on Saturday, August 10.
As of writing, the most engaged post bearing the claim was posted by “Volleyball Counts,” with over 10,000 reactions, 889 comments, and 779 shares.
Multiple comments in the post show that several Facebook users believed the claim.
What the post says: The post’s caption claimed that Suzara and Tushova made the following remarks:
Suzara: “The goal is for Marina to play for us in the World Championships in 2027 where we plan to host the tournament. It has implications for Olympic qualification, and we plan on sending the best team to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics.”
Tushova: “Playing for Alas is the dream from now on. As we know Russian participation in any tournaments is looking bleak and I plan to move ahead in my career. I have talked to Jia [de Guzman] and we agreed that LA 2028 is the main objective.”
The facts: The claim, which originated from a now-deleted X post, is fake, PNVF Vice President and Alas Pilipinas national team program chairman Ricky Palou told Rappler in an SMS message.
“I am not aware of the PNVF’s intentions to naturalize Ms. Tushova as a Filipina. I don’t think this is true,” Palou, who is also the president of the PVL, said.
Additionally, no reports from the official websites of the PNVF, PVL, or any reputable news sites confirm the plan to naturalize Tushova to play for Alas Pilipinas, the Philippine national volleyball team.
Fake quote: The supposed remarks from both Suzara and Tushova are also fake.
Tushova did not discuss any plans for naturalization nor mention having a conversation with Alas Pilipinas captain setter Jia de Guzman during the post-game press conference of her team’s victory over the Nxled Chameleons.
The interview with Tushova and Capital1 head coach Roger Gorayeb merely focused on the 25-year-old Russian’s historic 49-point performance and Gorayeb’s decision-making process in choosing Tushova as the team’s import.
Although Tushova mentioned that playing in the Philippines was her “goal,” the statements attributed to her in the misleading posts were never made.
“It was my goal to play here. I got an invitation a few years ago, but we didn’t find an agreement between the team… So I was really looking for a team here, so they [Capital1] found me,” she said.
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Gorayeb also confirmed that Tushova has been getting offers to play in other countries because of her performance in the Philippines. “She’s being scouted now, so there will be offers for her. Her volleyball career doesn’t end here [in the Philippines], she has another country in her future,” said Gorayeb in a mix of Filipino and English.
Similarly, Suzara also made no such remarks. No other official sources corroborate the PNVF president’s supposed quote.
Philippine volleyball: Tushova’s Capital 1 is currently at a 4-3 win-loss record in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference. The Russian import, who twice in a row earned PVL Press Corps Player of the Week, is currently the league’s best scorer.
Meanwhile, Alas Pilipinas recently bagged bronze in the first and second legs of the Southeast Asian V. League, defeating Indonesia. It was the Philippines’ return to a podium finish since the inaugural legs of the league in 2019 when it was still called the ASEAN Grand Prix.
Rappler has published fact checks debunking sports-related claims:
- FACT CHECK: Facebook page falsely claims Olympic wins of 4 Filipino athletes
- FACT CHECK: Kai Sotto did not join Sacramento Kings
- FACT CHECK: FIBA was founded in 1932, not 1960
– Larry Chavez/Rappler.com
Larry Chavez is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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