Not just players, but system and team chemistry, will help Alas Pilipinas reach new heights according to head coach Jorge de Brito.
The talent is there for Alas Pilipinas but there must also be a consistent system in order to achieve more with the national team.
That was the sentiment shared by national team head coach Jorge de Brito after reflecting on the recent finishes of Alas Pilipinas in both the AVC Nations Cup and the VTV Cup, both held in Vietnam over the past few weeks.
[READ: Alas Pilipinas falter against Chinese Taipei, miss out on VTV Cup podium]
Highlighted by a silver medal finish at the Nations Cup, the past two tournaments showed tremendous promise for the up-and-coming Alas Pilipinas team, which also began planting the seeds last year with the podium finish in what was then known as the AVC Challenge Cup.
But more than getting new talent — as evidenced by de Brito’s large pool of players — he also reiterated the need for the system to take full effect among the players.
With the national team having been amiss in continuity in the past few years, the Olympic gold medalist coach believes that the nitty gritty has to be done now, and no panic buttons be pressed as the team works on perfecting the Alas system.
“Of course, you can put up [big] names. These names are good but we need to grow as a team and not just adding star players that are really good,” de Brito told media on Sunday after heading back immediately to the Philippines to coach Capital1 in Montalban for PVL on Tour.
“We need to put them inside a system, then lock them in that system and they [should] feel comfortable there.”
The past two tournaments have seen a wide array of players, ranging from UAAP superstars like Angel Canino, newly-minted pro Bella Belen, and Adamson rookie sensation Shaina Nitura, share the court with seasoned veterans like skipper Jia De Guzman, Dawn Catindig, Eya Laure, and Vanie Gandler.
More recently in the VTV Cup, de Brito was able to field in more players — highlighted by Fil-foreigners like Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips, and Tia Andaya.
According to de Brito, the latter trio are on the brink of being cleared to play for Alas in FIVB-sanctioned tournaments. However, nothing official has been confirmed so far.
“They are already done with the papers in the FIVB. They’re not foreign anymore, they’re Filipinos,” de Brito said, speaking of the Fil-foreign players.
“Not yet [official]. I have not seen the paper. But as I know, within this week, we’ll have the final answer,” he added.
At the end of the day, though, de Brito said that they’ll need to work on one thing that every team needs: chemistry.
With the SEA V.League and the Southeast Asian Games still looming later this year, de Brito believes that chemistry is what they need to develop even more if they want to target a drought-ending podium finish in the biennial tournament.
Showing signs of brilliance against better teams, de Brito knows that how the team mesh on and off the court will be key to unlock their full potential.
“It’s the chemistry that we need. It comes with more time, how much more we play together, how much more good games in the high level that we’ll have, and the more we’re gonna grow,” he said.
“We had some good matches there [in the VTV Cup] against Russia, against Vietnam. The level we started [in those games] is from here [high level]. If we play a little bit down, you won’t play [a good game]. You’re gonna make only 15 points [in a set]. We have to maximize our potential to play against these teams so we have to bring them all the time,” he continued.