THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) on Friday warned on withdrawing the participation of the Alas Pilipinas Women in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games unless the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) abides by a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that guarantees a potentially strong finish by the women’s national team in the games Thailand is hosting in December.
“It’s about patriotism … putting flag and country above and before everything else,” said said POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino from Bahrain where he’s overseeing the national team in the Asian Youth Games.
“The goal is to finish strong—and to win the gold—in all of the sports where Filipino athletes are entered in the Thailand SEA Games,” said Tolentino, stressing that the close to 1,700-strong Team Philippines to Thailand are devoted to fight for the general championship which the country clinched in the 2019 hosting.
“And we are all aware—after having won three Olympic gold medals—that winning involves an absolute participation and cooperation by an entire community,” said Tolentino, adding “without full cooperation, we won’t accomplish our goals.”
He said: “But setting goals and getting everyone involved, we must train hard—and long.”
The Thailand SEA Games open in 46 days and Tolentino sees the limited window as “crucial in forming and strengthening chemistry in any team sport.”
The PVL, according to PNVF secretary-general Don Caringal, crafted a MOA where players from the 12 teams in the women’s professional league will form the core—with top collegiate athletes—of the Alas Pilipinas Women.
The Alas Pilipinas Women under Brazilian head coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito has made significant strides in the last four years—or since the PNVF was established in 2021—silver in Hanoi 2025 and bronze in Manila 2024 in the Asian Nations Cup and back-to-back bronze medal in the Vietnam SEA V-League in 2024-25.
Had the MOA been bilaterally signed last August, the Alas Pilipinas Women should have had more than three months to prepare for Thailand.
