Pilipino Star Ngayon
November 11, 2025 | 6:48pm
MANILA, Philippines — Matinding paghahanda ang gagawin ng Alas Pilipinas Under-16 girls squad sa kanilang pagsabak sa 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship sa Chile.
Kasama sa kanilang programa ang ilang overseas training at pagpapalawig ng player pool, ayon kay Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
Ang pinakabatang national volleyball team ang naging unang koponang nag-qualify para sa isang world championship na hindi nangailangan ng automatic berth mula sa hosting ng bansa.
“This is big for Philippine volleyball and we’re looking at the future,” sabi ni Suzara na pangulo rin ng Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC.
Tumapos sa fifth place ang Alas U16 team, ang 12 high school players na nagsanay lamang sa loob ng dalawang linggo, sa 2nd AVC Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship mula sa 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22 pagsapaw sa Thailand para sa huling Asian ticket ng worlds.
Swak ang China bilang defending world champion bago pa sila umabante sa Final Four ng Amman competition at makakasama ang mga qualified Asian teams na AVC U16 champion South Korea, runner-up Chinese Taipei at fourth placer Japan.
Sinabi ni Alas U16 coach Edwin Leyva na sasabak sila sa isang seven-month preparation na suportado ng AVC at ni Suzara.
“This time, hopefully we can prepare better,” wika ni Leyva. “As Mr. Tats Suzara mentioned, we’ll have more time to get ready probably around six to seven months before the tournament in Chile.”
“There’s also a possibility that we’ll train abroad so we can learn and adopt the systems used in Japan, Korea or Chinese Taipei,” dagdag nito.
Magdadagdag din si Leyva sa kanyang tropa na pinamumunuan ni team captain Xyz Rayco.
“Hopefully, we can expand the training pool to make it a bit bigger. That way, we can pull players from the remaining pool when needed. We can’t just keep things the same. We either have to strengthen the lineup or maintain it, depending on the team’s unity and camaraderie,” ani Leyva.