Photo from @AlasPilipinasVB/X
MANILA – Alas Pilipinas Men and Women are bracing for tough challenges abroad, seeking to claim volleyball glory in their respective AVC Nations Cup tournaments next month.
The Alas Men, who are bound for the FIVB Men’s World Championship, will be taking on Pakistan and Chinese-Taipei in Pool C of their division, scheduled for June 17 to 24 in Bahrain.
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But before this, they will participate in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation-hosted Alas Pilipinas Invitationals here in the country from June 10 to 12 at the Araneta Coliseum, ramping up their preparations for the FIVB Worlds.
Meanwhile, the Alas Women, headed by decorated setter Jia de Guzman, will battle their Pool B competitors in last year's second-place Kazakhstan, Iran, Indonesia, Mongolia, and New Zealand, in their Nations Cup tilt, set for June 7 to 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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They won a breakthrough bronze medal last year in the AVC Women's Challenge Cup — the same tournament as the Nations Cup before it was rebranded just this year.
Seen training with the team on Monday was De La Salle University's Angel Canino, who won Best Opposite Spiker award in the same tournament.
Moreover, the younger girls team of Alas will also participate in the AVC Women’s Under-16 Championship from July 20 to 27 in Amman, Jordan. They are bracketed in Pool B with Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The draws were held during the AVC Board of Administration Meeting which AVC and PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara hosted last Sunday at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel.
“It was a remarkable draw for the AVC’s competitions, and we’re incredibly happy to announce that volleyball is very much alive in Asia,” Suzara said. “We’re aiming for excellent quality of the competitions.”
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