Playing or not, Alyssa is trending topic

The Philippine women's volleyball team captain Alyssa Valdez has been trending all Thursday morning.

Nothing unsual. But unlike before when she put netizens in a frenzy because of what she does, this time she's causing a stir because of what she doesn't.

After two matches, the 29-year-old superstar has yet to see action in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh.

That compelled her legion of fans to storm the internet with the clamor for PH team's Brazilian coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito – who himself trended because of the same issue, by the way – to give her some minutes.

Videos of Valdez giving a pep talk to her teammates during the matches surfaced with matching captions asking when does she finally get to play.

Valdez is coming from a knee injury that caused her to miss the championship series with Creamline.

And although she declared herself fit, De Brito may be keeping her on the bench for good reasons.

The Philippines routed Cambodia in the opener of the Games. But powerhouse Thailand swept the Nationals next.

On Thursday, the country will play Singapore for a chance to make the next round.

Whether Valdez finally gets to play is everybody's guess. But one thing's for sure: Her fans will once again make a trending topic.