Alas Pilipinas Women will be relying on their chemistry and familiarity as they aim to end the country’s 20-year podium drought in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, set from December 10 to 19.
Team captain Jia De Guzman, making her fourth SEA Games appearance, acknowledged that each edition brings its own challenges.
While they know preparation will be tight, the team remains determined to maximize their resources and give everything on the court.
“I think every SEA Games, I’ve experienced na parating may challenge talaga. We’re going up against teams na, again, paulit-ulit nating sinasabi, have had time to prepare for this — kasi we know naman when SEA Games will happen; it’s every two years,” said De Guzman.
“But it doesn’t change the fact that the girls, the team, the coaches — we work hard every day to do what we can, despite whatever is happening. So, yeah, no matter what happens, lahat ng pwede namin ibuhos sa court, gagawin talaga namin.”
Since the Alas program was formed last year, the team has made it a point to compete whenever possible, sharpening their system and building the chemistry they will now rely on in Bangkok.
(C) PNVF
Last year, the national team made a huge leap, securing the country’s best finish in an Asian-level tournament with a bronze finish in the AVC Challenge Cup, now known as the Nations Cup.
They also captured back-to-back bronze medals in the Southeast Asian V.League and competed in the FIVB Challenger Cup.
In their second year, Alas Pilipinas raised the bar even higher, improving on their previous third-place finish in the AVC Nations Cup by earning silver after falling to regional powerhouse Vietnam in the final.
They later placed fourth in the VTV Cup and closed the national team window with two bronze medals in the SEA V.League.
De Guzman said the experiences and lessons from these tournaments will be invaluable as they prepare for the SEA Games, where they are drawn in Pool A alongside host Thailand and Singapore.
“Well, we’ve gone up against some of the teams that we’re going to play against this SEA Games. So may confidence kami on that. May familiarity na rin kami with each other kasi last year pa kami naglalaro as a team. The system is there,” De Guzman explained.
“It’s just that, compared to last year’s AVC, where we only had maybe three days to prepare and the whole tournament to make in-game adjustments… This time around, we’ve had two seasons of being Alas Pilipinas,” added the veteran playmaker.
While they wish they had more time to prepare, the eight-time PVL Best Setter is focusing on what they can control and making the most of the time they have to execute their game plan.
“I think we kind of expected naman talaga na the preparation leading up to the SEA Games was going to be a big challenge. We knew there were tournaments for both professional and university teams that would happen before the SEA Games — things that were out of our control,” she said.
“But yes, we do wish that we had more time to prepare for this. But nevertheless, yung communication, yung familiarity — we have that.”
#WATCH: EVERY SEA GAMES IS A CHALLENGE
Captain Jia De Guzman says Alas Women’s collective experience of being together for the past two years will pay dividends come #SEAGames2025 🇵🇭🏐#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/XQFXkVpZMn
📹 @jonashdcd /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/8yTa36dVUq
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) December 6, 2025
