The Alas Pilipinas men’s volleyball team kicks off its final preparations for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games this December with an intensive two-week training camp in Taiwan.
The 15-man national pool arrived safely on Sunday, regrouping under Italian head coach Angiolino Frigoni as they chase a medal in Thailand.
The Kaohsiung camp, which includes six friendly matches against powerhouse Taiwanese squads, marks the squad’s reunion after its historic run in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship last September, where the Filipinos finished 19th out of 32 nations in the country’s successful hosting.
Alas is determined to build on that momentum after the team earned global respect with a breakthrough win over African champion Egypt and pushed powerhouse Iran to a five-set thriller, narrowly missing a spot in the round of 16.
After proving the world that they belong, Marck Espejo, Owa Retamar, Leo Ordiales, Josh Ybañez, Kim Malabunga, Peng Taguibolos, Louie Ramirez, Lloyd Josafat, Buds Buddin, Vince Lorenzo, Eco Adajar, and Jade Disquitado set their sights on bringing home a SEA Games medal.
‘I’m excited for all of us to be together again,’ said Espejo. ‘We’re going to prepare well for the SEA Games. We really need to train together since we came from a long break, too.’
University of Santo Tomas’ Al-Bukarie Sali and JJ Macam got the call-up, seizing the opportunity to work with the national pool. Longtime member Lucca Mamone is also part of the group.
Alas star Bryan Bagunas remains in Japan with Osaka Bluteon in the ongoing SV.League. Taiwan holds a special place in Bagunas’ career as he won the MVP of the Top Volleyball League in 2023, leading WinStreak to back-to-back championships in the same year and in the 2023-24 season.
The Philippines last reached the SEA Games podium in 2019, when the country hosted the 30th edition and the men’s squad clinched silver after a finals showdown with Indonesia. Bagunas, Espejo, Malabunga, and Retamar were key figures in that run.
Alas finished fifth in both the Hanoi and Phnom Penh Games. The team continues to chase a breakthrough gold, with the program’s best results so far being two silver medals-including a finals appearance in 1977-and five bronze finishes.