Alas men toughened by European training camp
Joshua Retamar and his Alas Pilipinas teammates brought home huge gains after facing taller and stronger European teams in a fruitful three-country training camp for their historic debut in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship the country is hosting next month.
The heady 25-year-old playmaker admitted to being intimidated at the start of their tuneup matches against European teams, but shrugged them off as stronger opponents brought out the best in them.
“They have the height advantage, but we can match them in skills,” Retamar said after their camps in Morocco, Romania and Portugal. “We felt like high schoolers compared to them.
“But we’re happy because we realized that even if we’re smaller, we can still keep up with them,” added the former UAAP MVP. “Our training camp has been exhausting, but it was so worth it. It helped us a lot.”
Retamar was the youngest national team member at age 19 when he stepped up as the main setter and was instrumental in that memorable silver medal finish during the Philippines’ 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
In the country’s participation and hosting of the 32-nation worlds, Retamar is now one of the senior members, guiding new Alas Pilipinas setters Eco Adajar and Kim Elijah Tae-yin.
“The three of us really support each other, especially during games. We always talk about strategies to score quickly, so we’ve become a great trio on the court,” he said.
But under Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni, the ace out of National University gained important lessons on and off the court from the world champion tactician.
Retamar is one of 21 pool members hoping to make it to the Final 14 and be part of the landmark opener on Sept. 12 against Tunisia at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Philippines also battles No. 23 Egypt on Sept. 16 and No. 13 Iran on Sept. 18 in Pool A action.
