The 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship closed with Italy successfully defending its title in front of 15,682 spectators.
The Philippines made an impressive debut as host, finishing 19th out of 32 teams and going up from world no. 89 at the start to world no. 80 by the end.
After a year-long preparation starting with the appointment of coach Angiolino Frigoni, the question for Alas is: what now? Certainly, the immediate answer is the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
But after that, what's next?
One Sports asked some of the teams in the FIVB Men's World Championship on what the Alas Pilipinas program can do to improve and compete against top-level squads.
"Dedicate yourself to that lifestyle."
For coach Joel Banks, who is leading Netherlands in a generational shift this year, improving a volleyball program means a lot of dedicated effort even before any game begins.
"You need to work a lot. You need to practice a lot. You need to work very hard on the skills, very hard in the power room and basically just dedicate yourself to that lifestyle," Banks told One Sports.
"Because the teams here, the players will have done that for many years. So, to build the program requires a lot of hard work and investment."
Without Nimir Abdel-Aziz, world no. 20 Netherlands finished second in Pool B next to Poland, but fell in the Round of 16 to Turkiye. They ended up in 13th place from 10th in 2022.
"If you're able to put pressure without too many mistakes, that's how you get [to be] the best in the world."
One thing is for sure in a top-tier volleyball tournament such as the FIVB Men's World Championship, the pressure is constant.
And Canada captain Nicholas Hoag wants to emphasize this not only concerns the pressure to win, but the pressure to perform at a high-level in all aspects of the game.
"You're facing the best teams in the world, right? I think everything that's regular but also putting pressure, because volleyball is getting faster and more physical every year," he told One Sports. "So I think if you're able to put pressure without too many mistakes, that's how you get the best in the world."
"If you look at Poland, they're a very disciplined team. But also they'll put a lot of pressure serving and spiking. Same thing with France, same thing with all those top teams. If everyone can do that on the team, you have a pretty good shot at winning every game."
This outside hitter certainly knows what he's talking about. Hoag shares the eighth spot for best servers in the tournament, making eight aces.
Canada retained 17th place in the tournament, finishing second in Pool G but losing to Poland in the Round of 16.
"To play in this level, we need to serve very strong."
Korea coach Issanaye Ramires shares the same thoughts with Hoag when it comes to relatively inexperienced Asian countries competing at the top level.
The Asian squad returned to the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship for the first time in 11 years.
"The two main points here in this level, it’s about the physical level. I think, I’ve been working at the Asian level for a long time, so I think we need to improve our physical level," Ramires told reporters on what Asian teams can do.
"Because to play in this level, we need to serve very strong," he added.
"If we don’t have strong serves, if we don’t know how to spike balls, it’s gonna be a big problem to compete, point by point with those kinds of teams… I think the future can improve in the Asian level, I can advise it to the Philippines also, it’s the physical level, the serves, and how to spike the balls out of system."
Korea ended up last in Pool C, but took a set against Argentina and Finland.
[ALSO READ: What can Alas Pilipinas learn from South Korea’s FIVB World Championship run?]
"Must try to have perfect reception."
Sure, there may be certain physical disadvantages for teams when it comes to volleyball.
Turkiye coach Slobodan Kovac, who hails from Serbia, delivered a frank answer when it comes to what the Philippines can work on.
First, he acknowledged that Alas is not completely lacking at the World Championship level.
"You know, technically, Philippine team is super, understand? And, you know, they have the quality. Only, you know, step by step, I think with foreigner coach, understand?" He said to One Sports, "They need to have more power."
Kovac noted that Turkiye's strength lies in blocks and high ball attacks because of their height. This is not what the Philippines can rely on.
"Must try to have perfect reception, must play so fast, understand? Because this is the same situation with Japan. And I think, okay, in this moment, [they] don't have the quality of Japan," he admitted. "Have possibility, understand, to play this kind of volleyball."
Turkiye shocked fans when they swept fan-favorite Japan in the pool phase. They topped Pool G with a 3-0 record, defeated Netherlands in the Round of 16, before falling to Poland in the quarterfinal.
They finished sixth, improving from an 11th place finish in 2022.
[ALSO READ: FIVB: Turkiye coach Slobodan Kovac makes statement win vs Japan on his birthday]
"Many players go outside Japan, and then we got a lot of experience from top players."
Ran Takahashi, an outside hitter who is part of the highly successful Ryujin Nippon, shared his thoughts on Alas Pilipinas.
"I watched the game against the Philippines, against some teams, and the Philippine volleyball is so high quality, and high ability player," he told One Sports in English.
But asked on what Filipino players can improve on, Ran drew on his own experiences, which relies on international exposure.
"Now many players go to outside Japan, and we got a lot of experience from top players," he said, noting that the play would also need to be fast.
"But maybe, yeah, they for sure will be grow up a lot, and then they will be strong for sure."
[ALSO READ: FIVB: Ran Takahashi upbeat on future of Philippine volleyball after seeing Alas win vs Egypt]
Japan though, missing a few key players, exited the tournament as the 23rd ranked team after failing to survive the pool stage. They slipped from world no. 5 to world no. 7.
"Support is everything."
For Qatar coach Camilo Andres, who hails from Argentina, there is just one thing that is important for a growing volleyball program.
"I believe for this World Cup, it was a big support from the government," Andres told One Sports. "And I think you want to compete this, support is everything."
Support is important, as Qatar was the beneficiary of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme. This year, the federation got $496,000 in support for 12 months of coaching for both the men’s and women’s national teams, across indoor and beach volleyball.
This year, they secured a bronze at the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup.
Andres also noted that the Philippines would need more exposure, more competitions to sharpen their skills.
"This is the way, start to play the local competition after the Asian one, trying to get better," he noted. "They need a huge preparation and play many games like that. Being friendly, friendly games or official games."
"This is the way they can do it."
Qatar finished 22nd in the tournament, with a win against Romania in Pool B.
[ALSO READ: Qatar coach Camilo Soto shares what Philippines can build on after first FIVB MWCH win]
"Continue with this passion."
As for Italy coach Ferdinando De Giorgi, who has a long working relationship and friendship with fellow Italian and Alas Pilipinas coach Angiolino Frigoni, the advice is simple.
[ALSO READ: Italy's Ferdinando De Giorgi rains praise on friend, Alas Pilipinas coach Angiolino Frigoni]
While this edition of Alas is considerably younger and on the smaller side compared to their opponents, there is still something worth noting.
"They played very well. It's a good experience for the Filipinos," he noted after the Philippines' five-set heartbreaker to Iran. "You have to continue with this passion, this passion to improve always."
It's a simple message, but probably worth a lot from a coach who has led Italy to back-to-back FIVB Men's World Championship titles.
"We don't have anything to lose."
When Frigoni was tapped for Alas, he was frank about the team's situation.
"I think we are very far from the highest level. We have to compete at this level now. Maybe in the future, we can improve, but for now, this is our level," he said to reporters for the 2024 SEA V.League. "We cannot leap from where we are to the top level immediately. We have to advance incrementally."
Before the World Championship, Frigoni said the pressure is not on the host country at all.
"We don’t have anything to lose to be in this experience," he said. "The teams that have something to lose are our opponents. They must be very relaxed to play and be confident."
And the victory over Egypt, the Philippines' first-ever in the tournament, proved something.
"This team was with me for 16 months, and I saw how they improved. I was waiting for them to win one match to show everybody how we improved in these 16 months. That happened today."
[ALSO READ: How Alas head coach Angiolino Frigoni turned patience into historic heights for PH men’s volleyball]
Imagine what else they can do with more.
(With reports from Luisa Morales, Kiko Demigillo/One Sports Digital)
Katrina Alba is a sports journalist and producer, notably with SportsCenter Philippines before taking on her current role at One Sports.
She primarily writes about basketball and volleyball, with experience covering the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. Outside of work, her hobbies include running, swimming, pickleball, yoga, arnis, and krav maga.