Alas Pilipinas celebrates its bronze medal finish in the AVC Challenge Cup 2024. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Though Alas Pilipinas thrilled this suddenly volleyball-enamored nation to a record-setting performance in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup with a bronze medal finish, the real aim is to finally make a mark in Southeast Asia (SEA) when the 33rd staging of the SEA Games is played in Bangkok, Thailand, next year.
And with that, the professional PVL and its teams are committed to throwing their full support at Alas together with sponsor Meralco, which has started giving out P50,000 a month to each member of that squad and everyone else that joins the pool to make it 24-strong.
Rebisco, another staunch backer of the sport and owner of the Creamline and Choco Mucho teams in the PVL, is also committed to a long-term deal with the national team that will try to better its best-ever third place finish during the 2005 Games.
This was confirmed by unimpeachable Inquirer sources on Thursday, a day after the Filipinos finished third behind Vietnam and Kazakhstan for the country’s first podium finish in 63 years in the event, as the PVL reiterated its support by agreeing to lend “a maximum of two players per team even during (ongoing) PVL conferences.”
The same source also said that Meralco is doing a hands-on approach in compensating the players by “directly giving them their allowances” and not coursing them through the Philippine National Volleyball Federation or the PVL.
That amount is on top of the P200,000 cash bonus promised by Sen. Bong Go and the P15,000 allowance for the tournament for each player.
Hours after that bronze medal feat, it was reported that collegiate stars Alyssa Solomon and Bella Belen of UAAP champion National University and University of the East’s Casiey Dongalo will be joining the squad, which will play a friendly with South Korea later this month in what would likely be coach Jorde Souza de Brito’s last tournament with the Nationals.
Creamline players will now also be available after the Cool Smashers’ tour of Europe which was given as a bonus for dominating the league the last two seasons.
Jia definitely in
The best news is Jia de Guzman will be available for the team despite some reports saying that she has successfully negotiated a contract extension with Denso Airybees in the Japan pro league, giving what would be a new PH coaching staff the freedom to select two more stalwarts from powerhouse Creamline, De Guzman’s mother PVL team.
“The PVL and its teams will honor that pact of supporting the National (women’s) team,” the source, who refused to be identified, told the Inquirer. “PVL teams are ready to make the sacrifice of lending their players, that’s why the league will have import-flavored conferences coming up to make up (for the loss of team standouts).”
The FIVB, the same source explained, has laid out guidelines to make sure that players will be available for national team duties all over the world by setting May to October of each year as “national team period.” That means that even if De Guzman, who was named best setter in the Challenge Cup, remains with Denso, the Japan league will have no choice but to release her to national duty for Alas, counting its preparation time. Unless of course, the PH team does not include her in the pool.
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