ALAS Pilipinas Women enjoyed a year marked by a first-ever AVC Nations Cup silver medal and a pair of podium finishes in the 5th SEA V.League.
Those achievements came amid long-standing conflicts with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) under Tats Suzara and the country's main source of players for the national team, the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).
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The issue came to a head during the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, where Alas Women settled for a fourth-place finish that extended the Philippines’ SEA Games women’s volleyball medal drought to 20 years.
Incoming PNVF president Tony Boy Liao discussed the perennial club-or-country row that persists not only in Philippine volleyball but in other sports as well, expressing preference for a longterm plan involving a pool of young players.
Nine of the 14 players fielded by Alas Women in the SEA Games came from the PVL, underscoring the national team’s reliance on professional players.
However, Alas' participation in midyear international tournaments held during the FIVB-mandated national team window from May to September had been a major sticking point for the PVL, particularly for the team owners.
The FIVB has set the national team window from May 4 to September 4 for women, and from May 18 to September 18 for men - a four-month period where team owners continue to pay salaries while the league is supposed to take a complete pause.
In the past, the PVL opted for a little workaround, holding a PVL On Tour tournament to keep the clubs busy - and the team owners happy - while making the players called up by the PNVF available for national team duty.
“During the national team calendar, we used to have our PVL Invitational in May or June. Doon kami naglalaro, talagang during the national team calendar,” Liao, one of the founders of the PVL, said.
Leading professional leagues in Japan, Korea, Italy and Poland all schedule their seasons outside the FIVB window. However, these nations, unlike the Philippines, have national teams that are regulars in the biggest tournaments in the world.
In Japan, the SV.League’s 2025–26 season is scheduled to run from October 10 to April 5 for the women’s division, and from October 24 to May 17 for the men’s.
Korea’s V-League will be staged from October 18 to April 22, while Italy’s women’s professional league, Lega Volley Femminile, is set from October 7 to April 27.
Liao said he prefers a set-up where Alas players are released by their clubs for tournaments such as the SEA Games, Asian championships, and SEA V.League.
“Kung wala namang liga ang Alas, siyempre dapat maglaro sila sa club team nila,” he said. “Next year, wala namang SEA Games, so you don’t have to report sa Alas unless may mga SEA V.League, may Asian Championship.”
Alternative plan
Liao revealed another alternative that has gained traction among some stakeholders and PVL team owners: forming a national team pool composed primarily of youth standouts.
“Another plan that has been brought up by some of the club teams, para wala nang problema with PVL and PNVF and the club teams, why don’t you form a pool of young players, under-16, under-18?" said Liao.
“‘Yan ‘yung ite-train mo nang magkakasama para pagdating ng PVL, hindi na hihiramin ‘yung national team players.”
Concerns from team owners, particularly over player injuries sustained during national team duties without contingency plans, have further bolstered support for the proposal.
With a growing pipeline of young talent, as evidenced by Alas Pilipinas Girls’ historic qualification for the 2026 FIVB U17 World Championship, the plan appears forward-looking.
Still, there remains the problem of incorporating elite PVL stars into the national team program ahead of the country's hosting of the 2029 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
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