FILE–Alas Pilipinas coach Angiolino Frigoni during the SEA VLeague first leg.–SAVA PHOTO
SEOUL — Alas Pilipinas men’s gears up for busier months with more than a hundred days to go before its historic debut and the Philippines’ hosting of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship from September 12 to 28.
Philippine National Volleyball Federation and Asian Volleyball Confederation president Tats Suzara has plotted the map of the men’s national volleyball team’s road to the World Championship with a series of international tournaments, friendlies, and a training camp in New York.
READ: Alas Pilipinas to undergo overseas training for FIVB men’s worlds
“There’s a lot of work to be done to get the best players for our team,” Suzara told reporters after a successful appointment ceremony of K-Pop group BOYNEXTDOOR as the World Championship’s Global Celebrity Ambassadors on Saturday at HYBE Headquarters here.
Alas, mostly composed of Spikers’ Turf stars from finalists Cignal and Criss Cross, begins its road to the worlds in the Champions League from May 11 to 18 in Osaka and Kyoto, Japan, where the Filipinos are slated in Pool B with the host’s Osaka Bluteon and Shanghai Bright Volleyball Club of China.
Only the top two teams in each group advance to the crossover quarterfinals. In the Pasig Women’s Champions League, Petro Gazz, Creamline, and PLDT all reached the top eight.
Final lineup
After the Champions League, the Alas pool, under Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni, heads to a New York training camp from May 27 to June 3, where they will also look for potential Filipino-American players.
READ: Alas Pilipinas coach bracing for tough FIVB men’s worlds campaign
Suzara expects“some progression and changes” in the pool composition since the UAAP, which has key members from National University, La Salle, and the University of Santo Tomas, is still ongoing.
“It’s progressive there are 25 to 30 players. We get the final lineup just may be a week before the World Championship,” he said.
The Filipino Spikers are also scheduled to compete in a test event to celebrate the Philippine Independence Day and the 100-day countdown, facing club teams from Japan and South Korea, and the Thailand men’s national team from June 10 to 12 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alas is also participating in the AVC Men’s Nations Cup 2025, the qualification for the Asian Volleyball Championships 2026, from June 17 and 24 in Manama, Bahrain and the SEA V.League before the world championship.
FIVB is set for trophy tour in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao as part of the festivities to drum up the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship hosting.
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Suzara also revealed that a fundraising fashion show, led by renowned Filipino designer Avel Bacudio, will be held on May 21, featuring Filipino volleyball players.
