Skipper Jia Morado-De Guzman welcomes the four-year lead-up for Alas Pilipinas Women’s historic debut in the 2029 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship.
Although nothing is certain regarding the team’s composition, as most of the veterans of the current squad, including De Guzman, will be in their early to mid-30s by the time the prestigious volleyball spectacle takes place, earning an outright spot as hosts will give Alas more than enough time to prepare.
“It’s great that we got informed this early about the World Championship,” De Guzman said following the announcement of the Philippines’ hosting rights last Sunday.
FIVB president Fabio Azevedo and Brazilian volleyball legend and Senator Leila Barros announced the Philippines’ hosting before the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship gold medal match between eventual champion Italy and Bulgaria in front of an excited 16,429-strong crowd inside the Mall of Asia Arena.
“So, we can’t really bank on what we’ve been doing in the past years of just a few weeks of preparation for a tournament. Although the past few years have been very kind to us in terms of results, but that’s only banking on weeks, a few months of preparation. This time, we’re years ahead,” added the 30-year-old ace setter.
“So, we have to take advantage of this.”
Alas has earned good results in the past couple of years despite limited time to prepare.
The Filipinas won a historic silver medal in the Asian Nations Cup last year after a bronze medal finish in the previous edition. They also snatched four straight third place finishes in the Southeast Asian V.League since 2024.
Alas is looking to ride the momentum of their recent success in a bid to end a two-decade podium drought in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.
Young guns led by Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomion, Shaina Nitura, Thea Gagate, Cla Loresco and Fifi Sharma are expected to turn into grizzled veterans and mature leaders in four years, guiding a new generation of Alas.
“We need the best of the best. Not just the best of the best but we need people who want to work for the country, who want to learn from us also. We want the team training with the best talents from high school, from college,” De Guzman said.
“Hopefully, all of the teams, all of the clubs, all of the universities can support us behind this because the world is already seeing how good the Philippines is,” she added.
“We have so much potential. And we want to show it. I think we can only do this if we’re given the time to prepare.”
Alas gets a crack at a spot for the 2027 World Championship, jointly hosted by Canada and United States, with a podium finish in the highly competitive Asian Championship next year in China.