Dynamic mix of stars boosts Alas Pilipinas hopes
The past will stay in the past as Alas head coach Jorge Souza de Brito is concerned.
Whatever the national team accomplished last year—good or bad—has no bearing on their plans to build a stronger program to bring more glory to the country.
“I’m not comparing. What happened last year as result was good. We are looking for consistency, [which] means we will keep [on working as long as we are] given the support to improve,” De Brito told the Inquirer via a messaging app.
The national team has finally come up with the lineup that will represent the country for the first of its slated tournaments this year, the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup, starting from June 7 and would last until June 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Alas will test its mettle against Mongolia, Indonesia, Iran, New Zealand, Kazakhstan in Pool B, where it aims to finish in the top two spots to advance to the semifinals.
The national squad won’t lack firepower. Returning hitters Bella Belen, Vanie Gandler, Eya Laure, Angel Canino and Alyssa Solomon will be among the scoring options of playmakers Jia de Guzman and Julia Coronel.
Defensively, Alas will still have the services of liberos Jen Nierva and skipper Dawn Macandili-Catindig, along with middle blockers Thea Gagate, Fifi Sharma and Dell Palomata.
High potential
Despite being tapped on a short notice last year, these mainstays clinched historic bronze medals to make people notice the new heights reached by the program. The results also allowed De Brito to extend his stint as the national team tactician.
But in an attempt to bring home a much better result, De Brito would be bringing in young stars mostly from the collegiate ranks, all of which will be serving national team duties for the first time, including UAAP Rookie of the Year Shaina Nitura of Adamson, who has shown the most potential among the college players.
National University will also be lending its high IQ setter Lams Lamina while Far Eastern loaned middle blocker Cla Loresco. Leila Cruz of Capital1, which the Brazilian mentor will handle as its new head coach, rounds up the roster.
“It’s [a] competition representing the country. I hope they will show what we’ve been doing in our trainings,” De Brito said. “Our pool is really strong then we chose these 16 players based on our training time and performance. Balance with young talented promises and steady talented ones.”
He added, however, that some of his options from the pool would not be available for the upcoming regional meet because some are still in the process of transferring federations or are still recovering from injuries.
Some of those names include PVL MVP Brooke van Sickle and Petro Gazz teammate MJ Phillips, as well as setter and PVL Draft aspirant Tia Andaya, all of who are tied to the US federation.
They can still banner Alas in the other non-FIVB-sanctioned tournaments lined up later in the year.
