THE Alas Pilipinas men’s and women’s indoor volleyball rosters may have already appeared on the official Asian Games website, but the names listed there should not yet be treated as the final lineups bound for Aichi-Nagoya.
At least for now, the rosters represent select names from the Philippines’ broader Entry by Names pools submitted to the Asian Games organizers by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) ahead of the July 1 deadline.
This means that both Alas Women head coach Taka Minowa and Alas Men mentor Angiolino Frigoni could still make changes before the final tournament rosters are locked in.
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The names currently shown for Alas Women include captain Jia de Guzman, Angel Canino, Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, Shaina Nitura, Erika Santos, Vanie Gandler, Thea Gagate, Fifi Sharma, Amie Provido, Gel Cayuna and Justine Jazareno.
On the men’s side, the names listed include star tandem Bryan Bagunas and Marck Espejo, along with Jude Garcia, Leo Ordiales, Owa Retamar, Peng Taguibolos, Josh Ybanez, Adrian Villados, Buds Buddin, Lloyd Josafat, Al-Bukharie Sali and Rodge Alejos.
But while those names offer the clearest indication yet of the players in the running for the Asian Games, neither Minowa nor Frigoni is necessarily locked into the final roster just yet.
The Philippines submitted expanded national pools consisting of 22 players for the women and 14 for the men, with both coaches retaining the discretion to trim those groups down to the final 12-player tournament rosters right up until the official technical registration meetings before the tournament begins.
Additional roster caveats
There is also an injury provision that could still alter the final lineup.
Should a player on the submitted final list suffer an injury, a replacement can still be made, provided that the incoming player was already included in the broader pool submitted back in July.
That caveat is equally important for players who were not part of the initial Entry by Names list. They cannot simply be added as late replacements, no matter how strong their case may be, because any replacement must come from the original registered pool.
All final roster reductions and approved injury substitutions will have to be settled and locked in during the Delegation Registration Meetings and sports technical meetings just days before the Asian Games formally open on September 19.
So while the names now appearing on the official Asian Games website provide a major clue to the shape of both Alas Pilipinas teams, the final 12-man and 12-woman rosters are still subject to change.
SPIN.ph also reached out to Minowa for clarification on the roster situation, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.
Alas Women will join regional powerhouses China and Kazakhstan in Pool B, while Alas Men will also take on China, along with Korea and Chinese-Taipei, in Pool D of the Asian Games volleyball tournaments.
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