Bella Belen will also be mentored by Alas Pilipinas head coach Jorge de Brito when she enters the professional scene with the Capital1 Solar Spikers.
Bella Belen will be welcomed by a familiar face when she joins the pro ranks of the Capital1 Solar Spikers, with Alas Pilipinas head coach Jorge de Brito also taking over the role of mentor in the PVL club.
Succeeding famed coach Roger Gorayeb, de Brito will usher in Belen’s next step in her career once national team duties wrap up, with the three-time UAAP MVP expected to still play for Alas Pilipinas in the coming months.
Knowing Belen’s calibre and how a change of scenery can sometimes derail an athlete’s direction, de Brito said that he is taking the challenge in stride in coaching a generational player.
[READ: Bella Belen welcomes new challenge as PVL no. 1 pick for Capital1]
The UAAP’s first-ever Rookie MVP in women’s volleyball, and a three-time UAAP champion, de Brito and Capital1 are making room for Belen to further spread her wings, this time in the setting of a professional league.
“It’s my challenge to keep her focus on her career to improve and also to help the team. I think they’re trying in Capital1 to give her the best environment to grow as a player, as a teammate and as a leader also,” de Brito told the media at the sidelines of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.
De Brito is eager to take the reins for Belen’s development, especially after her lengthy stay in National University’s system, where she’s been since her high school years.
Now with bigger and bolder challenges headed for Belen in the professional scene, de Brito is happy to be along for the ride.
“She’s been with the NU team for 11 years. It’s kind of a big change for her also. Not only changing from the UAAP, from UAAP or college, but also to be a pro. It’s new exposure for her to be in the national team for long — not as a baby but young players,” he said.
“Right now, she’ll change her status and has to lead the team and has the potential to do that.”
Belen was selected as the no. 1 overall pick of the 2025 PVL Rookie Draft by the Solar Spikers. Just last week, she played a pivotal role in leading Alas Pilipinas to a silver medal finish in the AVC Nations Cup in Vietnam.
Apart from Belen, Capital1 also drafted two other rookies in UST’s Pia Abbu, and Asian Institute of Maritime Studies’ Ivy Aquino during the draft earlier this month.