Bundit given free hand to form think tank

Newly appointed Alas Pilipinas head coach Tai Bundit will inherit the same pool of players that saw action in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in his debut at the reins of the national squad.

Bundit was officially named Alas mentor on Thursday and his first order of business is to prepare for the coming AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup in June.

Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Tony Boy Liao told DAILY TRIBUNE Friday that the Thai mentor would have to navigate the 6 to 14 June competition to be staged in Candon, Ilocos Sur, with the same crew that his predecessor, Brazilian Jorge Souza de Brito, formed for the biennial meet in Thailand last December.

With the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference already in play and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) opening next week and ending by mid-May, Liao said the logical solution is to stick with the same lineup to maintain chemistry and familiarity.

Bundit, whose last stint with the national squad was back in 2015 as a deputy of Roger Gorayeb for the Singapore SEA Games, will have the freedom to select his coaching staff.

“He will have a free hand to choose his coaching staff and will be the coach of the Alas women’s team that will play in Candon,” Liao said.

“Unfortunately, he has to use the Alas team that played in the last SEA Games because there’s no more time for him to create a new team. After the Candon event, he will have the chance to select and create his team,” Liao added.

Bundit, the architect of Ateneo de Manila University’s back-to-back titles in the UAAP in 2014 and 2015 and Criss Cross’ breakthrough Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference crown last year, reunites with his former college players in Alas skipper and main setter Jia Morado-de Guzman and middle blocker Maddie Madayag.

Alas has seen success in the last two editions of the Nations Cup.

The Philippines won bronze in the 2024 edition, then known as AVC Women’s Challenge Cup, held at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Alas would surpass its podium position the following year after a runner-up finish the following year behind three-time champion Vietnam in Hanoi.

De Guzman is the reigning back-to-back Best Setter of the competition while Angel Canino won Best Opposite Hitter in 2024 and Dell Palomata copped Best Middle Blocker last year.

The Alas SEA Games team Bundit will take over is also composed of wingers Bella Belen, Vanie Gandler, Alyssa Solomon, Shaina Nitura, and Eya Laure, young middle Amie Provido, setters Julia Coronel and Mars Alba and liberos Dawn Macandili-Catindig and Justine Jazareno.