ALAS Pilipinas head coach Angiolino Frigoni had one recurring message during the year-round buildup to the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.
What the 71-year-old Italian mentor kept on pointing out was how Filipino fans should support the national team on home soil rather than to keep on rallying behind more successful foreign teams.
“In my experience, when we played against Japan, Filipinos were cheering for Japan and not for the Philippines,” Frigoni said four days before the tournament opener.
READ Alas Men go down fighting against Tunisia in FIVB Worlds debut
“So, what I’m telling to the Filipinos, please come. We need you. As supporters, we need you because we are going to fight together against Tunisia. Don’t let us fight alone against Tunisia.”
As far as the numbers go, the Filipino crowd didn’t disappoint.
A total of 9,245 fans flocked the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday as the Philippines made its FIVB Worlds debut, albeit in a losing effort, to world No. 43 Tunisia.
The energy and the sight of thousands of Filipinos cheering Alas on left a smile in Frigoni’s face, even after a tough defeat.
“I am very happy with the supporters here. Maybe in one side, they gave us support. In the other side, they gave the players tension,” Frigoni said.
“The tension is also coming more from the fact that this is a bigger competition. Okay, if they can come against Tunisia, against Iran, we’ll be very happy. The team will be very happy.”
Witness the world’s best
Frigoni is optimistic that more fans will be onboard as Alas Pilipinas rounds out its campaiign in the group stage with games against Egypt (Sep. 16) and Iran (Sep. 18).
But before those herculean matchups, the Alas mentor called on Filipinos to grab a rare opportunity to appreciate the world’s best grace local shores over the next week.
“I think that this is a very good opportunity for everybody, not just to support the Philippine national team but to see the high level of volleyball,” Frigoni said.
“The World Championship just started. Today, we only have one match. In the future, slowly but surely, you will see the quarterfinals, the semifinals, the finals, they will have a very big opportunity to see a very high level of volleyball.
“So, come and support men’s volleyball because the women’s are already popular here.”
And his parting words for the Filipino faithful, “don’t leave us alone against Egypt. “
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