Player availability continues to hound Alas Pilipinas less than a month before the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup in Candon City.
Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Anthony “Tony Boy” Liao confirmed that most, if not all, of the Alas Pilipinas players who competed in the recent Southeast Asian Games, led by team captain Jia De Guzman, have begged off from national team duties.
“The old Alas. We invited them, maybe they’re not available, or they’re not willing to play. They said no, eh. They said they are not interested in playing anymore, so wala na,” said Liao.
“Yung naglaro ng SEA Games, we invited all of them, they said they will not play anymore,” he added.
Aside from De Guzman, Liao also revealed that Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and Maddie Madayag have opted to skip Alas duties for the upcoming AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup.
Liao shared, however, that Solomon has committed to rejoining the national team next year.
“Jia already replied to Ricky Palou. She’s not playing. Same with Maddie, kasi ang kumo-contact si Taj eh, ‘yung team manager. Ini-inform lang niya ako kung sinong umoo, sinong humindi. Even Belen, nag-no. Solomon daw next year na lang,” he said.
Other players from the SEA Games squad include Eya Laure, Vanie Gandler, Mars Alba, and Alleiah Malaluan.
Shaina Nitura, meanwhile, expressed her desire to suit up for Alas but was forced to beg off due to an undisclosed injury. Justine Jazareno has also shown interest in joining the national team, although she has yet to formally commit to the program.
“Nitura naman, injured pero gustong maglaro. ‘Yung Akari, Alba, Sharma, Jazareno, walang reply. Pero I was able to talk to Jazareno sa Candon nung All-Star, she’s willing to play,” Liao shared.
Liao added that the federation remains in active discussions with De La Salle University regarding the participation of Angel Canino, Shevana Laput, and Amie Provido.
With this, the PNVF is expected to send out a second batch of invitations to PVL and collegiate players in a bid to complete the Alas Pilipinas roster ahead of the AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup.
“Definitely, we will be adding. Kasi, right now we only have 11 to 12 players, eh. So the plan really is to have a pool of 20 to 25 players. We’ll talk with the coaches and Coach Tai,” Liao said.
Alas Pilipinas has already suffered a major blow after newly appointed head coach Tai Bundit was sidelined for the next two to three months following a car accident in Thailand.
The AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup will run from June 6 to 14 in Candon City.
