JUST over a year since Philippine volleyball was rechristened as Alas Pilipinas, the sport has surged to new heights that once seemed unimaginable.
READ: PNVF, PVL searching for ways to ease Alas schedule conflicts
While there were moments when Alas teams could have pushed the bar even higher, the shift toward far more ambitious goals than ever before stands as a strong and encouraging indicator of how much progress has been made in such a short span.
In 2025 alone, at least five key milestones across four Alas teams helped shape that ascent, signaling a clear transformation of the sport’s landscape and charting a more promising path forward.
ALAS MEN: Breakthrough after breakthrough
The year that was will forever be etched in Philippine volleyball lore, particularly for a men’s program that had long waited for its moment to shine and capture the support of the nation.
There was no more fitting stage for history to unfold than on home soil, at the sport’s biggest global showcase.
Alas Men broke new ground at the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, claiming the program’s first-ever set win, and eventually its first match victory, on the world stage.
Ranked 82nd entering the tournament, the Philippines drew little attention as a lowly-ranked host and competition debutant.
But the Nationals quickly proved they belonged, opening their campaign with a hard-fought four-set loss to 11-time African champion Tunisia before delivering a statement win over Africa’s reigning powerhouse and world No. 23 Egypt, 29–27, 23–25, 25–21, 25–21.
The triumph marked the Philippines’ first World Championship victory in the 64-year history of the national volleyball federation.
Euphoria surged once more following another inspired performance against Asian powerhouse Iran, led by the Nationals’ newest three-headed monster in Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo, and Leo Ordiales.
What initially appeared to be a historic win and a ticket to the playoffs, however, unraveled in dramatic fashion, as a late challenge and counter-run flipped an unprecedented triumph into a heartbreaking defeat — underscoring both how far the program has come and how fine the margins now are at the highest level.
Just three months after their breakthrough run on the world stage, Alas Men returned to action and endured early stumbles, as they worked to regain their rhythm at the regional level.
The Nationals struggled out of the gate in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, managing just one win in their first three matches, as uneven performances threatened to derail their campaign.
But when it mattered most, the team found its footing.
Alas Men rallied in the bronze medal match, overturning Vietnam in a gripping five-set battle, 23–25, 23–25, 25–18, 25–22, 16–14, to secure a place on the podium.
The victory delivered the Philippines its first SEA Games men’s volleyball medal in six years, ending a drought that dated back to the silver-medal finish on home soil in 2019 against regional powerhouse Thailand.
ALAS BEACH: Golden girls in the sands
The sacrifices made by Sisi Rondina, Bernadeth Pons, Dij Rodriguez, and Sunny Villapando paid off in resounding fashion on the sands of Thailand.
Alas Beach delivered a historic breakthrough by capturing the country’s first-ever SEA Games beach volleyball gold medal, dethroning the dominant Thai force that had claimed the title in every edition of the event since its introduction in 2003.
The win also marked a rare milestone for Philippine volleyball as a whole, becoming the country’s first SEA Games gold medal in the sport since 1993, when the women’s indoor team likewise prevailed over the Thais.
For Rondina, Pons, and Rodriguez, the road to gold demanded significant sacrifice.
The trio sat out nearly a full year of PVL action with their respective mother clubs to fully commit to national team training. That meant Choco Mucho being without league MVP Rondina, while Creamline had to make do without another MVP in Pons and Rodriguez.
With national duty taking precedence, the quartet made sure their commitment was not in vain.
Alas Beach turned in a near-flawless campaign, suffering just one loss in a non-bearing preliminary match against their eventual finals opponents before peaking when it mattered most.
‘SiPons’ redeemed their halted bronze three-peat bid in 2023 with the biggest victory of their partnership: a 21–17, 21–15 sweep of longtime Thai titleholders Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee and Taravadee Naraphornrapat.
The gold was sealed by the newly formed Rodriguez–Villapando tandem, which closed out the series in three sets, 21–13, 17–21, 15–6, pulling away with a blistering 10–4 start in the title-clinching tiebreak.
ALAS WOMEN: Silver shone like gold
Alas Women scaled their tallest mountain yet in Hanoi, capturing a first-ever silver medal at the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup last June.
Coming off a historic bronze finish in last year’s Challenge Cup, held a year before rebranding as the Nations Cup, expectations were high for the Nationals to at least replicate, if not surpass, that breakthrough run.
They did just that.
The Philippines posted four wins in five preliminary round matches to top Pool B of the 11-nation competition, setting the tone for a deep tournament push.
Their campaign reached a defining moment in the semifinals, where Alas Women survived a tense five-set battle against Chinese Taipei to secure a place in the final.
The victory guaranteed the program its best finish in an AVC tournament since the national volleyball federation’s formation in 1961.
While the gold medal match ended in a straight-set loss to host Vietnam, 15–25, 17–25, 14–25, the silver medal still marked a major milestone.
It became the Philippines’ 19th international medal in women’s volleyball and the country’s first silver finish in any volleyball event since the 1997 SEA Games in Indonesia.
From there, the year plateaued before eventually moving downward for Alas Women.
The Nationals followed up their breakthrough run with a fourth-place finish in the succeeding VTV Cup, then managed to collect back-to-back bronze medals in the 5th SEA V.League.
The year ultimately ended on a more grueling note, as Alas Women settled for fourth place in the 33rd SEA Games in an outcome shaped largely by limited preparation time and ongoing continuity issues.
ALAS GIRLS: Getting along with the world
It wasn’t just the seniors and veterans carrying the load for Philippine volleyball in 2025.
Alas Girls punched their ticket to the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship in Chile, set for August 5 to 16.
With that achievement, all three Alas indoor teams have now either played in or qualified for an FIVB World Championship event: the men in 2025, the girls in 2026, and the women slated for 2029.
The under-16 Nationals earned their spot by finishing fifth in the 2025 AVC Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship last November in Jordan.
Their world stage qualification was secured with a hardfought 25–23, 25–20, 19–25, 25–22 victory over Thailand in the classification phase, claiming the fifth and final Asian berth for next year’s tournament.
This milestone placed them alongside some of Asia’s elite squads, including defending world champion China, Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei, for the 2026 FIVB U17 Worlds.
Remarkably, Alas Girls achieved this feat with just two weeks of preparation for the Asian championship and with tempered expectations.
After posting only one win in four preliminary round matches, the team rallied with back-to-back victories over Hong Kong and Thailand in the classification phase to secure a top-five finish.
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