Alas Pilipinas captain Jia de Guzman at the SEA Women's V.League 2025. SAVA/Facebook
MANILA (UPDATED) — Moments after the announcement of the country's upcoming hosting of the 2029 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, national team captain Jia de Guzman expressed their eagerness to showcase the potential of Philippine women's volleyball.
Speaking on behalf of Alas Women, De Guzman said that they are "very happy" as the national team is set for a historic participation on the world stage, where they are expected to be invited to get a spot by virtue of hosting in 2029.
She added that the development being announced this early gives them a lot of time to sharpen their skills.
READ: PH set to host FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in 2029
"We're so, so happy, as in. We couldn't believe it at first, but biglang napunta kami sa—that's giving us a lot of time to prepare for it," De Guzman told reporters.
"Well, actually, I think sobrang ganda na this early pa lang, sinabihan na tayo na kung kailan mangyayari 'yung world championship," she added.
Citing the performance of the men's team, which took part at the 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship, De Guzman asserted that this opens a lot of possibilities for Alas Women.
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"With what the Alas Men showed, with 16 months of preparation tapos ganyan kaganda ‘yung pinakita nila, there are so many possibilities talaga. We're just happy that we're going to be given the opportunity to represent — women’s naman on this stage," she said.
The national team leader acknowledged that they need the help of the local clubs and universities to be able to prepare fully for this grand opportunity.
"Hopefully, all of the teams, all of the clubs, all of the universities can support us behind this because the world is already seeing how good Philippines is. We have so much potential talaga," said the PVL's eight-time Best Setter.
"And we wanna show up... I think we can only do this if we're given the time to prepare."
De Guzman said the FIVB's long-term, seven-year project for Alas teams would be critical—and it's something they have been "waiting for."
"Yeah we're really happy kasi they also announced a long-term seven-year program. This is something we've been waiting for—everyone sa volleyball community: men's, women's, beach volleyball," she said.
"This is the kind of program we've been waiting for for years. It's also inspiring for the next generation to come in right now. Right now is a really good time to come into Alas and show the world what we've got."
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