The work doesn’t stop for Alas Pilipinas head coach Angiolino Frigoni, who continues to attend the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship games, seeking lessons to further elevate the national team program.
Despite the Philippines’ elimination in the pool phase, Frigoni attended the Round of 16 opener yesterday and was also present at today’s matches, including his home country Italy’s straight-set victory over Argentina, which secured a quarterfinal berth.
The former FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship-winning coach said that at age 71, he still embraces the drive to learn and improve, which is why he plans to attend all the remaining games of the tournament.
“I am 71 years old, but I want to improve, I want to see what they are doing in the other teams. If I can get something that I can use with my team, I will do it. Why not?” said the architect of Alas Pilipinas’ dream run in the World Championship.
“Until now, I didn’t miss one match. Just the group, I miss. But I was here for two matches yesterday, two matches today.”
Frigoni also took the opportunity to reconnect with his former ace in the Italy U21 squad, Alessandro Michieletto, as well as his former player and now Italian national team head coach, Ferdinando De Giorgi.
The former African Men’s Volleyball Championship-winning coach noted that while Michieletto has grown and changed a lot since their time together at the U21 level, one thing remains constant — he continues to be a vital piece of the Italian national team.
“Michieletto was my under-21 player. In [four] years, the players, they change a lot. With me, he was a very important player. Now, he’s still an important player for the national team. I think he’s an extraordinary player for me. I don’t get to see anything better,” said Frigoni.
The 23-year-old rising star tallied a game-high 15 points as Italy defeated Argentina, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 32-nation tournament.
“He didn’t start very good today. He got two blocks, one ball out. He could’ve been better in the start. But now, after, he was very, very good,” Frigoni said.
Asked about Italy’s chances of repeating as World Champions, Frigoni said the title remains theirs to lose, though they must remain wary of strong threats from teams like Poland and Belgium.
“I said to you, for me, [Italy] is still one of the teams [to beat]. There are a lot of teams, not just Italy. Poland, for example. We will see Belgium and Finland tonight, that is also very good. Don’t forget that Belgium beat Italy, 3-2, in the group,” he said.
“They can think to be champion again because they were champions already during the last World Championship.”
#WATCH: Despite the Philippines being out, Angiolino Frigoni keeps working—attending all #MWCH2025 games yesterday, today, and the upcoming matches. At 71, he’s still eager to learn and pick up insights to help Alas Pilipinas 🇵🇭🏐
📹 @jonashdcd /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/0sheuAqtMB
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) September 21, 2025
