CANDON, Ilocos Sur — “The Joshes” earned the highest praise from Alas Pilipinas head coach Angiolino Frigoni following the team’s campaign in the first leg of the 2026 Southeast Asian V Cup, which concluded Saturday at the Candon City Arena here.
After the Philippines wrapped up the tournament with a 25-21, 28-26, 25-22 victory over Myanmar to secure fifth place, the Italian tactician singled out Joshua Magalaman and Josh Ybañez as the squad’s most consistent performers throughout the regional tournament hosted by Candon City Mayor Eric Singson and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Although Alas Pilipinas struggled in pool play, dropping both of its Group A matches, Magalaman and Ybañez emerged as bright spots in defeat.
Making his Alas Pilipinas debut, Magalaman led the team in scoring with 21 points against Cambodia before adding 13 against Indonesia.
Ybañez, meanwhile, provided stability on the defensive end, anchoring the Nationals as their libero throughout the competition.
“I give you one name. Magalaman, for example. He was pretty stable in all three matches. The others went up and down, but he was stable,” said Frigoni.
“Also, Josh, that was stable in all the other matches. When we started, we had some problems.”
Despite the team’s inconsistent results, Frigoni said he was proud of the entire squad for answering the call and representing the country despite having limited time to prepare together.
“I am proud of everybody. They improved. Also, some of them didn’t play a lot. But you know, I use every set, all substitutions. So in this competition, everybody played.”
The victory over Myanmar was the first for the current Alas Pilipinas squad, which was only formed on May 15.
For Magalaman, the breakthrough win gives the team a much-needed confidence boost heading into the second leg of the SEA V Cup, which will take place from July 22 to 26 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“Napakalaking confidence para sa team kasi alam namin yung kaya naming gawin. Alam namin yung dapat na naming gawin sa next tournament po,” said Magalaman, who quickly emerged as one of the tournament’s breakout performers in Candon.
