After the success of the Alas Pilipinas Women’s team, Noel Kampton and the rest of the Philippine men's national team gear up for their own battle.
So much for scoring.
Head coach Serio Veloso preaches three key things to Noel Kampton and the Alas Pilipinas Men as they gear up for the upcoming 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Men in Bahrain next month.
“Service, blocking, and defense talaga 'yung keys ni coach Sergio [Veloso],” Kampton said on Pilipinas Live's Starting Lineup.
Kampton is part of the Alas Pilipinas 14-man roster competing from June 2-9, and the DLSU Green Spiker shared what the Nationals are working on as they gear up for their campaign.
“Basically, coach Segio is a blocking coach. Mandatory sa kaniya 'yung blocking and defense. 'Yun talaga 'yung puro training namin. Syempre, sa service, 'yun din 'yung gusto niya,” the DLSU Green Spiker added.
“Basta ‘pag hindi naman nagawa 'yung tatlo, magagalit siya sa’min,” Kampton jokingly added.
Bannered by a mix of veteran and up-and-coming volleyball stars, Alas Pilipinas Men are in a huge need of defensive-minded players. They decided to convert two-time reigning UAAP men’s volleyball MVP Josh Ybañez as one of the liberos, alongside Cignal HD Spikers’ Vince Lorenzo.
Longtime national team star Marck Espejo, Nico Almendras, Jau Umandal, Jade Disquitado, Leo Ordiales, and Kampton will comprise the National’s attacking forefront.
Kampton even admitted he wasn’t really a fan of coach Veloso at first, but realized how much the Spanish tactician helped him and the squad.
“Si coach Sergio [Veloso], wala akong masasabi sa kaniya. Hands down talaga ako sa kaniya. He taught us to play high-level volleyball.”
“First training ko kay coach last year, ayaw ko na bumalik kasi 'yung skills niya, 'yung ginagawa niya, 'di ko magets. Pero in the end, narealize ko na, [it] makes sense. Nirerespeto niya 'yung system natin here in the Philippines, but he has his own system. Sobrang okay talaga ng sistema ni coach Sergio,” Kampton revealed.
The 24-year-old hitter was part of last year’s Team Philippines squad that finished 10th in the same tournament held in Taiwan.
[ALSO READ: Volley veterans beef up men's national team for AVC Challenge Cup]
This year, Alas Pilipinas Men are grouped in Pool A together with host Bahrain--which claimed silver in last year's edition in Chinese Taipei--and powerhouse China, who is coming off a silver medal run in the recent Asian Games.
As Kampton admitted the challenges that lie ahead, he’s confident in trusting the whole coaching staff throughout the process.
“It’s not an easy game, knowing that well be facing China, fresh from exit sila sa VNL, then silver medalist yung Bahrain last AVC so we’ll see. We just trust the process of coach Sergio and the coaches syempre.”