PHILIPPINE volleyball’s ascent received a stamp of approval from an esteemed pair of Thai sporting legends in Wanna Buakaew and Wilavan Apinyapong.
Two of Thailand volleyball’s longtime pillars had their shares of international duels with past Philippine teams throughout their 20-year careers.
Wilavan is a 10-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist and one of Thailand’s central figures on offense when they won every edition of the biennial meet for the last two decades.
Before entering the coaching scene, Wanna played as a libero for the Thai national team and was part of eight straight SEA Games gold medal wins, also dating back to the 2001 edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Now coaches of Thailand’s under-20 national team EST Cola in the 2024 PVL Invitational Conference, Wanna and Wilavan saw significant progress on how the game is played in the country compared to the Thais as Asia’s third-ranked team and 13th in the world.
Simply put, they believe the Philippines is now better than they ever were in volleyball.
"From my experience, I also played before and now as a coach, Philippine style and Thailand style are very close, not different, but I felt like now the Philippines is more improved. Before, it was not so good but now every team has improved and they play a lot of combinations,” Wanna said.
“Everything's more organized and improved about Philippine volleyball."
Wilavan added: “This time, all Philippine players have improved a lot. Now, the organization in the competition is very good. It feels like we’re playing in a professional league in Europe or something like that. It feels like players in the Philippines have a lot of experience.”
“We will keep this experience to improve our Thailand (team) also."
PH’s love for the game unmatched
Having played in the Philippines before as a national team star, Wilavan still felt the same passion and energy from the Filipino crowd even from the sidelines as an assistant coach.
For the 40-year-old deputy coach, the continuous support for volleyball will help the sport rise to new heights in the years to come — and the Philippines has been front and center in such a pursuit.
"For me, my last SEA Games was here in the Philippines. I feel the love of the fans of the Philippines. They’re very good because they all support volleyball, not only for the Philippine team but also support our team,” said Wilavan.
“I feel very happy that I play volleyball because I love volleyball. When I see some people love volleyball, it’s very good for volleyball”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
