Alas Pilipinas men’s Bryan Bagunas. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Bryan Bagunas is raring to make up for lost time after a one-year layoff due to a knee injury in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship starting on September 12 at Mall of Asia Arena.
A year after suffering a major injury, Bagunas could be making his return on the biggest stage of volleyball when Alas makes its historic world debut against Tunisia.
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The former Spikers’ Turf and UAAP MVP has returned to intense training, catching up with the national program in its three-country European training camp.
“I’m really happy to be back on the court. I wouldn’t say I’m at 100 percent yet, but I’m doing my best to catch up with the team. We all know how high the level of competition is now, so I’m pushing myself to keep up with them,” Bagunas told the reporters in Filipino.
“Honestly, our training camp was a huge help. Facing those high-level teams gave us a great experience. It’s preparing us for the kind of teams we’ll face in our pool at the World Championship. It was a valuable experience, and we learned a lot.”
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Bagunas, who led the Philippines to a historic 2019 Southeast Asian Game silver medal run, embraces the team’s underdog billing in Pool A where they also battle Egypt and Iran.
“Actually, all of them are tough. We know the level of play is very high. Iran is really on another level. Still, we’ll do our best to perform well,” he said.
Instead of being pressured to win a game, Bagunas’ ultimate goal is just to showcase Filipino talent in front of the volleyball world.
“We’re just here to play our game and show what we’ve learned from our coaches. We want to prove that the Philippine men’s volleyball has a real chance to compete globally. Like they say, this is just the beginning—for more people to recognize what we’re capable of,” he said.
As a long-time men’s volleyball player, Bagunas once dreamt of getting huge support for their division and now that they are a week away from the World Championship, he said it feels like it’s a win for every Filipino male volleyball player.
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“I honestly get goosebumps. It’s overwhelming to feel this kind of continued support for men’s volleyball. I hope it keeps going. This feels like the start of something big, and as part of the national team, we’re here to perform and show the Philippines that we can compete on the world stage,” he said.
