Alas Pilipinas Men spent a year sharpening their game through camps, friendlies, and regional battles as they gear up for their historic debut at the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship in Manila.
The countdown to Manila’s historic hosting of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship is down to the last three days.
When Manila was awarded the hosting rights for the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship in March 2024, the Philippines secured not just a historic spot in the tournament but also a year-long preparation.
What followed was an extensive stretch of training camps, overseas tours, and regional battles—all designed to mold Alas Pilipinas into a squad ready to stand tall against the world’s best.
Here’s a timeline of Alas Men’s preparation for the global tilt.
March 2024: Manila named host
On March 21, 2024, the FIVB officially announced that the Philippines would host the 2025 Men’s World Championship, scheduled September 12–28 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
This marked only the third time that an Asian country hosted the event, putting the Philippines in the spotlight as the mecca of volleyball in 2025.
September 2024: FIVB World Championship draw + Italy training camp
Held at the Solaire Grand Ballroom in Pasay City on September 14, 2024, Alas Pilipinas was drawn into Pool A alongside Tunisia, Egypt, and Iran for the FIVB World Championship.
Alas Pilipinas were drawn into Pool A against Tunisia, Iran, and Egypt. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports
To jumpstart preparations, the Filipinos held a two-week camp in Italy. Alas Men, under head coach Angiolino Frigoni, sparred with club teams, focusing on system building, conditioning, and cohesion.
May–June 2025: U.S. tryouts and exhibition match
Alas Men traveled to New York City in late May 2025 for training, a volleyball clinic, and a friendly match against the Fil-Am select team in the Serve-Spike-Unite 2!, which served as an avenue to search for new talent in preparation for future international tournaments.
Their trip also included participation in the Philippine Independence Day festivities.
June 10–12, 2025: Alas Pilipinas Invitationals
The Philippines welcomed Indonesia’s Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi, South Korea’s Hyundai Capital, and the Thailand Men’s National Volleyball Team for a three-day pocket tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alas Pilipinas Men had a strong outing in its three-day Invitational tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports
Alas Men defeated all three teams to capture the Invitational crown, proving to be a huge confidence boost in front of home fans.
June 17–24, 2025: AVC Nations Cup in Bahrain
With momentum on their side, the national team joined the Asian-level Nations Cup in Manama.
Alas Men, however, finished 10th overall but capped the campaign with a 3-1 victory over New Zealand. The experience highlighted areas for improvement, particularly against taller Asian squads.
On the bright side, Leo Ordiales and Josh Ybañez took home individual awards in the tournament, namely the Best Opposite Hitter and Best Libero plums, respectively.
July 9-20 2025: SEA Men’s V.League
Back-to-back legs in Ilocos Sur and Jakarta gave Alas Pilipinas more match play against Southeast Asian rivals.
The Philippine squad defeated Vietnam and Cambodia in the first leg. However, the team came up just short of securing a podium finish in the SEA V.League.
The second leg was much tougher for Alas as they only secured one victory for another fourth-place finish.
August 2025: Europe camp
To raise their game further, the squad headed to Europe and held matches against Morocco, Romania, and Portugal.
Rigorous two-a-day sessions, plus tune-ups against World Championship-level teams, exposed the Filipinos to higher pace and power.
Alas Pilipinas Men also saw the return of superstars Bryan Bagunas and Marck Espejo, both of whom had been dealing with injuries.
[ALSO READ: Marck Espejo back in stride as Alas Men wrap up Europe camp ahead of World Championship]
September 2025: Final push
Final tune-up matches, media day, and send-off capped the build-up.
Alas Pilipinas now sets its sights on Pool A, starting with a September 12 opening match against Tunisia at Mall of Asia Arena, followed by duels with Egypt, and Iran.
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE, RESULTS | Alas Pilipinas debut at 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship]