BANGKOK, Thailand — The Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) is sticking with Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni to handle the reins of the Alas Pilipinas men’s indoor volleyball team program.

Alas halted a six-year medal drought after bagging bronze in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games that concluded Saturday here.

Despite falling short of a return to the finals since a runner-up finish in the 2019 Manila edition, the Philippines’ podium finish in the biennial meet was enough merit for Frigoni to get an extension.

“As they say, why change the jockey when your horse is winning?” said PNVF president Tony Boy Liao, following Alas’ dramatic come-from-behind, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 16-14, third place match win over Vietnam at the Indoor Stadium Huamark.

“We will stick with him. He had a good showing. The players like him,” he added.

Liao earlier announced that the federation won’t extend Brazilian Jorge Souza de Brito’s tenure as head coach of the women’s team after another heartbreaking failure to halt a 20-year medal drought.

The federation, however, will work to have Frigoni stay and continue the program.

“He’s gonna go home to Italy for the Christmas season. Then he’ll be back by the last week of January, we’ll sit down and talk to him. His contract will expire by July 2026. So, we’ll discuss our future plans with him,” Liao added.

“However, given the good things he has done for the team, he will likely have an extended stay. The team has shown a good performance.”

Under Frigoni, who replaced Brazilian Sergio Veloso in the middle of 2024, Alas reached greater heights.

The national squad won back-to-back bronze last year and made a rousing debut in the FIVB Men’s World Championship where it beat African champion Egypt in four sets and nearly advanced into the second round.

In the SEA Games, Alas won its first game against Myanmar in straight sets before bowing to Indonesia to end the group stage.

Eventual champion Thailand blanked the Filipinos in the semifinal.