Will We Have An All-New Alas Pilipinas Core For 2025? 

With a full slate of international competitions this year, the PNVF has unveiled its wishlist of volleyball stars that could beef up the Alas Pilipinas national team. 

Continuity may be key to establishing a sound national team program, but the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) isn’t hesitating one bit to add some fresh legs for Alas Pilipinas as it takes on a busy 2025 calendar.

The PNVF recently released its “wishlist” of 33 prospects for the national team who will be invited to a series of tryouts to determine the team composition for three major international competitions for this year. 

Headlining the 33-strong list are 14 current Alas Pilipinas members who took home a trio of historic bronze medals from the AVC Women’s Challenge Cup, and the Southeast Asian V.League between May to August last year. 

“These are quality young players from the professional league PVL, from abroad and schools,” said concurrent PNVF and AVC president Ramon “Tats” Suzara. “This is a wish list of players for the national team that I fervently want to see competing for our flag and country.” 

The 14 original Alas Pilipinas members are as follows: 

But what about the other 19 eyed by the PNVF?

A who’s who of prospects 

Starting off with our setters, there is Choco Mucho’s Mars Alba, who has stepped up big time for the Titans amid Deanna Wong’s continued return to form. As seen with their quarterfinals series against PLDT, Alba wasn’t too shabby either as an occasional spiker, even coming up clutch when called upon by head coach Dante Alinsunurin to beef up the offense. 

Along with Alba is the NU Lady Bulldogs’ Lams Lamina, who is currently averaging a league-best 4.82 sets per frame midway through UAAP Season 87. Lamina, as the Lady Bulldogs’ chief playmaker, is a one-time Best Setter who has set up the one-two punch of Alyssa Solomon and Bella Belen since high school. 

An interesting name here though, would be Fil-Am Tia Andaya, who previously joined the national team during their training camp in Japan last year. Will this be the year we see her in Alas threads, perhaps?

Another Fil-Am in Hannah Stires is among the PNVF’s prospects for liberos, while Akari’s Justine Jazareno might just get a national team call-up fresh from her return from pregnancy. Jazareno has barely missed a beat in her PVL comeback, and was also handled by head coach Jorge De Brito during his time with the Chargers. 

Now, for the wing spikers. Starting with the opposites, Tots Carlos will have the chance to prove herself after missing out on a national team appearance last year. In her own return from injury, Carlos has slowly regained her lethal form for the Creamline Cool Smashers, providing an added source of scoring behind Bernadeth Pons, Alyssa Valdez, Jema Galanza, and Bea De Leon. 

An interesting prospect here would be the DLSU Lady Spikers’ Shevana Laput, who is currently second in the Season 87 MVP race behind Belen. More than her now-lethal scoring and sound leadership, the six-foot-two Laput also provides height, which will be crucial when facing international competition. 

Then there’s Eli Soyud, another Charger who is taking over from super import Oly Okaro amid her team’s 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference campaign. Along with Ivy Lacsina and Grethcel Soltones, Soyud is one of Akari’s main gunners as they try to prove their mettle with an all-local core. 

The PNVF’s outside hitter pool is headlined by Adamson super rookie Shaina Nitura, whose high volleyball IQ and maturity is accompanied by a God-given athleticism. Nitura, at just 20 years old, is also the single-game scoring record holder in the UAAP with 38 huge points last March 16.

Other collegiate stars include the Lady Bulldogs’ small but explosive hitter Vange Alinsug, who forms part of NU’s offensive troika behind Belen and Solomon. DLSU’s Aleiah Malauan, with her height and Season 87 resurgence, is also set to try out for a national team spot.

While she’s still with USA Volleyball, Petro Gazz’s Brooke Van Sickle is also part of the PNVF’s Alas Pilipinas wishlist, and is expected to bring her explosive scoring coupled with reliable floor defense. 

Apart from Van Sickle, there is the equally explosive Savi Davison, who recently led PLDT to a quarterfinals appearance during the All-Filipino Conference. Like Van Sickle, Davison is a proven scoring threat who can get creative when trying to poke through opposing defenses. 

In a welcome development, ZUS Coffee’s Chai Troncoso is also part of the potential outside hitter pool following a productive campaign with the up-and-coming Thunderbelles. 

Household names fill up the middle blocker pool, but an interesting inclusion here is FEU’s Clarisse Loresco, another UAAP Season 87 rookie that was a former Best Middle Blocker during the Season 85 Girls’ Volleyball Tournament with FEU-Diliman. 

Now in her third year, DLSU’s Amie Provido is also in consideration, and could possibly reunite with Lady Spikers’ teammates Canino and Gagate if she impresses in the tryouts. 

Of course, there are also some former national team mainstays in Kurobe’s Maddie Madayag and Creamline veteran Pangs Panaga. Petro Gazz’s MJ Phillips, despite still being with Volleyball USA, previously represented the Philippines during the 2021 Asian Club Volleyball Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

View the full list here:

What’s in store for Alas? 

As mentioned, it’s going to be a busy 2025 for the nationals, who will play in the 2025 AVC Women’s Challenge Cup this June 8 to 15, the SEA V.League between July 25 to August 3, and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games set this December 7 to 19 in Thailand. 

And in preparation for that, just about everyone will be vying for a chance to don the national colors on a grander stage. 

“We are very confident to tap the best players in every position,” De Brito said. “The Philippines has a lot of great talents from the collegiate ranks up to the pro ranks and we are improving ever since I arrived. We just need to work hard to let the players grow.”

Banner images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League and UAAP Media Bureau.