Frigoni polishes a gem with Alas’ 5th-place finish
Alas Pilipinas coach Angiolino Frigoni praised the commitment of every player who answered the national team’s call despite settling for fifth place in the first leg of the SEA V Cup, singling out newcomer Joshua Magalaman as one of the squad’s brightest positives.
Magalaman capped an impressive debut tournament with 12 points built on eight attacks, three blocks and an ace as the Philippines swept Myanmar, 25-21, 28-26, 25-22, on Saturday at the Candon City Arena.
“Magalaman. He’s pretty stable in those three matches,” Frigoni said. “The others went up and down, but he was stable.”
`“I saw Magalaman two years ago. I wanted him to play for the national team, but there was a problem, I think, with the school. As soon as I could, I got him,” Frigoni said.
Magalaman, who saw limited minutes for La Salle in UAAP Season 88, made an immediate impact for Alas. He erupted for a team-high 21 points in a five-set loss to Cambodia before adding 13 in a straight-set defeat to Indonesia.
Despite the losses that relegated the Philippines to the classification round, the 22-year-old cherished finally realizing a longtime dream.
“I’m really happy and thankful to God for giving me this opportunity,” Magalaman said in Filipino. “Representing the national team has always been my dream, and I honestly didn’t expect to perform this well.”
With the second leg set in Indonesia, Magalaman believes the victory over Myanmar can provide momentum.
“This win gives us confidence because we know what we’re capable of,” he said. “We also know what we need to improve before the next tournament.”
The Philippines played in Candon without several members of its Asian Games pool, including Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo and Owa Retamar, who are coming off overseas club commitments, as well as National University standouts Leo Ordiales, Buds Buddin and Peng Taguibolos.
Still, Frigoni found encouraging signs from a youthful roster that featured Magalaman, Rodge Alejos, Jian Salarzon, Lirick Mendoza, Greg Ancheta, Axel Van Book and Jude Garcia.
Louie Ramirez led the victory over Myanmar with 14 points on 11 attacks and three blocks. Van Book added nine points, Garcia scored eight in his Alas debut, and Lloyd Josafat chipped in six.
While pleased with the result, Frigoni said the team still has plenty to improve before the second leg.
“I was more satisfied with the way we played in the matches we lost than in the one we won,” he said.
