After a few years of urging, Ybañez-Chavez along with Rosemarie Prochina, and for other players from Cebu went to Manila in 1990 to try out for the national team that will participate at the 1991 Southeast Asian Games. Only Ybañez-Chavez and Prochina managed to gain a slot at the national team due to competition from Manila-based players. The national squad settled for bronze at the 1990 Southeast Asian Games. The national squad underwent training in Japan and joined various tournaments such as in Thailand as preparations for the 1993 Southeast Asian Games. The Philippine squad under Staņislavs Lugailo clinched the gold medal at the games beating Thailand in the finals. Ybañez-Chavez was named as the MVP and Best Spiker of the women's volleyball event.