ANGIOLINO Frigoni has admitted pondering on when his time with Alas Pilipinas Men will come to an end, and it could come as soon as next year.
In the aftermath of a historic 19th place finish in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, Frigoni bared how he already began reflecting on his own future as Father Time catches up on him.
“My contract will finish in May next year,” Frigoni said on Kom Noli Eala’s Power and Play program on Saturday.
“I like very much to work with these players. I like working under these conditions and it should be better, but I am 71 years old. Maybe, I don’t look like that but I am.”
Nothing is set in stone on his coaching future with nine months left on his contract, but he’s already laid a possible prerequisite in place that could extend his stay for a bit longer.
“I’m almost always thinking about volleyball and what we have to do in practice […] but I have a family. I have two very nice grandchildren and I would like to spend some time with them,” Frigoni said.
“If there will be some condition that I don’t have to stay here the whole time, [then maybe I can stay longer].”
And as much as time permits, he hopes to deliver on his immediate goal at the helm for the Nationals: to win a major medal.
A parting wish, of sorts
The FIVB Worlds showcased the promise of Philippine volleyball in the international stage.
But to seize opportunities is one thing, and to build them for the long run is another.
As such, Frigoni carries the hope that the Philippines can produce even more building blocks competitive enough to go on par with the world’s best in the years to come.
“This is not just for our team. This is for volleyball. The first thing that must come out from this World Championship is to be a very good advertisement for volleyball and to bring more people,” the Italian Alas Pilipinas head coach said.
“Some of them could be 17, 18, 19 [years old] who are tall but are not good enough to play basketball, please come to volleyball.
“It’s not that you have to start when you are six or seven or eight or ten years old to play volleyball. You can play volleyball starting 18 or 19, there’s no problem for it. Please, we need tall people.”
He further explained how such disparities in size and in popularity vis-a-vis basketball are inevitable but surmountable if enough young athletes would be drawn to one of the country’s fastest-rising sports today.
“I think that in volleyball, there are more popular sports in the Philippines like basketball. I think it’s the most popular,” he said.
“To improve our sport and to give the sport more chances, we need some other kind of players — not that I don’t like the players that I have — but compared to the players in the international level, all of them are very tall and all of them are strong. We don’t have very tall players, especially in some positions.
“I don’t know if Filipinos can have these kinds of players because they’re all going to basketball. I can really understand why — more opportunities to change their life. It’s the reality.”
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