Tonyboy Liao barely warms his seat as president of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), but he is already facing the tough task of leading Alas Pilipinas to the medal podium of the women’s volleyball event of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand 10 to 19 December.

Liao, an old hand in Philippine volleyball, told DAILY TRIBUNE that they are determined to win a SEA Games medal for the first time since the country hosted the 23rd edition of the biennial meet in 2005 in Bacolod City.

Alas Pilipinas had already announced its 20-man pool for the biennial meet.

The squad, however, suffered some delays in its preparation as players were still busy competing in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference. In fact, only a few players like Alyssa Solomon, Dawn Catindig, Vannie Gandler, Bella Belen and Leila Cruz have consistently attended training under Brazilian mentor Jorge Edson de Brito.

But with the domestic league already coming to a close on Sunday, the national squad is expected to train in full strength as it looks to stop powerhouse Thailand from winning its 17th title in front of volleyball-crazy Thais at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok.

The Philippines is bracketed in Pool A together with Thailand and Singapore while Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Malaysia are in Pool B.

Liao said even if they lose to Thailand and advance to the crossover semifinals as the second seed against the expected top seed in Pool B in Vietnam, they still have a chance — if reports are true that top spiker Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen will not be seeing action. Nguyen Thi reportedly begged off from competing in the biennial meet after being asked to undergo gender testing.

“Actually, it depends on the (semifinal) placing,” said Liao, the former national team commission chairman who ousted Ramon “Tats” Suzara as PNVF chief in an election two weeks ago.

“It will be good if we end up as No. 1 in the pool. But it will be a tall order. After all, we’re in Thailand. But as they say, the ball is round. We can win. I think we just have to wait and see.”

He said Nguyen Thi’s presence will play a key role in their medal chances.

“If we face Vietnam in the crossover semifinals, and their top player will not be there, maybe we have a good chance. For me, if we make it to the finals, it’s already gold and silver — minimum silver,” the veteran volleyball official added at the sidelines of the send-off ceremony for national athletes headed for the SEA Games.

“Now, if you don't make it, you will play for bronze; most likely, we’ll face Indonesia again. Let’s see. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Let’s pray that there will be no injuries. Everybody will be complete.”

The last time the Filipinas won the gold medal in the SEA Games was in 1993 in Singapore. Since then, emerging as champion has never been easy as the Thais started to rule the event with an iron hand.

Recently, however, Alas Pilipinas, bannered by skipper Jia de Guzman, had shown signs of improvement as it secured a silver medal in the AVC Nations Cup last June in Vietnam.