FIVB president Fabio Azevedo talks about Alas Pilipinas and what’s next for Philippine volleyball.
No less than FIVB president Fabio Azevedo was impressed by Alas Pilipinas’ short but sweet run in the Men’s World Championship held right on home soil.
Despite entering as the host nation, the Alas Men were quick to prove that they belonged among the world’s top 32 volleyball teams, going on to dispatch Egypt for their first-ever win in World Championship history, and nearly shocking Asian powerhouse Iran with a Round of 16 ticket on the line.
The Nationals may have been two points short of advancing into the knockout stages, but the FIVB chief knows that they have firmly cemented their legacy in Philippine volleyball history through their World Championship debut.
“Those guys are heroes, those guys are legends, all right?” Azevedo told The GAME in an exclusive interview during the World Championship quarterfinals last September 24.
“Most of them are college players, most of them are in university, right? And they played against professional athletes in the world, playing in the most important leagues. So their performance was outstanding,” he continued.
Five players in Alas’ 14-man lineup are still playing in the UAAP, namely UST’s Josh Ybañez and the National University quartet of Michaelo Buddin, Jade Disquitado, Leo Ordiales, and Peng Taguibolos.
As a testament to their skill, Ybañez, Taguibolos, and Ordiales were all part of Angiolino Frigoni’s starting six throughout the World Championship, with Ordiales emerging as a capable third option behind veterans Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas, and Ybañez cementing himself as an elite libero in international play.
“Those guys [Alas Pilipinas], they inspired the world. It’s a bold statement, but they inspired the world and they showed to the world that dreaming big is possible, right? And working hard, dreaming big, everything is possible,” said the FIVB chief.
Even more impressive, Azevedo said, is that Alas Men’s 19th-place finish has them bunched with traditional powerhouses such as Brazil (17th) and France (18th), who were also eliminated in pool play.
“They are ahead of Japan [who finished 23rd] and Cuba [in 20th]. They are just below Brazil and France, the Olympic champion! Can you imagine that? That’s a fantastic performance, man. No one expected that. Fantastic!” he said.
By going from underdogs to history-makers, Alas Men have felt the impact of their magical run, according to Azevedo, sharing how their short but sweet World Championship stint placed the spotlight on them.
“I asked the kids, ‘Hey, how did [the World Championship] change your life?’ They said, ‘Oh man, we became famous overnight. It’s tiring’. I said ‘it’s tiring, but you enjoy it’ because that’s the best moment of your life, man’,” Azevedo said.
A good example of this, according to the FIVB chief, was during their unveiling of the Volleyball Legacy Art project in Parañaque, where a custom court mural by Maya Carandang immortalized the country’s hosting of the World Championship.
During that event, Azevedo witnessed firsthand the local community’s excitement toward Alas Pilipinas captain Bryan Bagunas, who was present to see the larger-than-life artwork’s grand reveal.
“In the community where we had the court painted, so many kids came together with Bryan, and they were like taking pictures with him,” Azevedo said. “You know? I’m quite sure that many kids in the country now are dreaming to start playing our sport, and to one day play for the national team of the Philippines.”
“And that’s exactly what can cause the change in the sport within the country. When you see a national team performing, athletes being role models, that you want to follow those guys. And this [World Championship] will enlarge the number of people playing the sport,” Azevedo said.
“You’re in a country of [around] 120 million people, right? So I’m sure that the quality of the national team in the next years to come will be massive and amazing.”
Building on momentum
Along with the “perfect” hosting duties, momentum is now on Philippine volleyball’s side thanks to Alas Pilipinas’ magical World Championship run. But how exactly can they build on this success?
This is where the FIVB’s seven-year development plan for Philippine volleyball comes in, according to Fabio Azevedo. With the country showing its potential to be world-class, the next step is to solidify its status as a volleyball powerhouse.
Azevedo gave a glimpse of what to expect from the development plan, which is still being ironed out as of writing.
“We are discussing with your government to establish a seven-year plan, which could be longer, but the principle should be a seven-year plan that envisions the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane,” he explained. “It’s going to be a matter of preparing the national teams for indoor and beach volleyball, both men and women, throughout the way.”
“This one I cannot disclose with you now, but we are planning other big events to come to the country in the future.”
Without spilling any further details, Azevedo explained that the development plan will be built on four pillars, which start with empowering the PNVF to become self-sustainable and adopt the best practices towards management in the long run.
As mentioned, a part of this seven-year plan is exposing all national teams to world-class competitions, as well as tasking the Philippines to host more international events.
“Second is helping the national teams; men, women, beach [and indoor] volleyball to get better and play more competitions around the world in order to travel more and to represent more of the country,” Azevedo said.
“Third is to have a sequence of more events in the country, which means that why not host another World Championship, maybe a women’s World Championship, or a beach volleyball World Championship. You could also host more the VNL, along with other Asian events,” added Azevedo, who hinted at a “big” women’s volleyball event coming to Manila in the near future.
Last but not least is mass participation, which involves a further integration of volleyball into Filipinos’ lives.
“It’s how volleyball can be introduced to the schools, and how volleyball can be played in communities, how it can be played for the kids,” Azevedo explained. “Whatever kind of volleyball, whether it’s with softballs, balloons…you know? Not necessarily on an official court, but can be played everywhere. One-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, six-on-six, nine-on-nine, it doesn’t matter.”
“But for more people to enjoy the game and have fun, that’s what we want. We want volleyball to be a part of the Philippines’ society in the future.”
Azevedo believes that mass participation can also benefit grassroots programs in the long run.
“What we are planning is giving more conditions to kids, young players to get involved with our sport and to play our sport more…so for example, we have an amazing discipline being played in Asia now named air volleyball, which is played in a small court, six-by-six, with a two-meter net, and a soft, big ball, right? And this one is perfect for schools,” he explained.
“Whatever game in where you keep a ball flying, keep a ball in the air, is volleyball. Like a birthday party, you get a balloon, or kids playing balloon, for us, it’s volleyball. So that’s what we want. In terms of grassroots, what we want is people to keep moving forward and keeping the ball flying.”
Long-term potential
All in all, Fabio Azevedo believes that the Philippines is on the right track to becoming a volleyball powerhouse, especially with the FIVB and PNVF’s seven-year development plan already being ironed out.
In the immediate term, Azevedo is also confident that Alas Pilipinas’ run can inspire more Filipinos to pick up the sport. The FIVB chief even compared the Nationals’ performance to that of Turkey’s golden silver at the Women’s World Championship in Thailand.
“They got the silver medal in Thailand,” said Azevedo, with Turkey in the midst of a bright new era in women’s volleyball. “Because they start to have great success in the national team, then they can inspire more kids to start playing. Then the quality of the national team can get better and better.”
“That’s the virtual cycle of the sport, and I’m sure the Philippines will have the same effect, the same positive effect for both men’s and women’s volleyball.”
With momentum on the Philippines’ side, it’s now a matter of building off those gains in order to ensure a sound future for the country’s volleyball scene.
Banner images courtesy of Volleyball World.