Jia De Guzman and Thea Gagate became the fifth and sixth Filipinas recognized in the SEA V.League history.
Jia De Guzman remains the gold standard while Thea Gagate towers over the competition on their way to becoming part of the region’s finest volleyball stars.
On top of clinching the bronze medal, the Alas Pilipinas teammates bagged individual awards in the recently-concluded Leg 1 of the 2024 SEA V.League.
[ALSO READ: Alas Pilipinas take bronze in. Leg 1 of SEA V.League]
Jia-mazing copped the Best Setter award, once again piloting the team’s swift offense that gave the Philippines its first medal finish in four years.
This accolade came just three months after the eight-time PVL champion with the Creamline Cool Smashers helped Alas Pilipinas secure a bronze medal at the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup in Manila- a historic campaign that saw the Philippines end a 63-year medal drought in AVC-sanctioned play.
Meanwhile, Gagate, the top overall pick in the inaugural PVL Draft with ZUS Coffee, was honored with the Best Middle Blocker award alongside Vietnam’s Dinh Thi Tra Giang.
The former DLSU Lady Spiker also became the first tournament’s best middle blocker from the Philippines since her fellow La Salle product Majoy Baron won the award in both legs in 2019.
In an Instagram story, Gagate, who dropped 10 points including three blocks in their bronze medal-clinching win against Indonesia, shared a snap with the squad and her first accolade as a member of the national team.
[Photo: Instagram | @gagatethea]
"My first-ever international award!," she wrote on the post.
[Photo: Instagram | @gagatethea]
Chatchu-on Moksri copped the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after leading Thailand to its sixth-straight title while also earning a spot as one of the Best Outside Spikers, along with teammate Ajcharaporn Kongyot.
Vietnamese sensation Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen received the Best Opposite award, while Thailand’s Piyanut Pannoy was recognized as the Best Libero.
The Thais secured the gold while host Vietnam settled for silver to join the Philippines in the podium of Leg 1.
Alas Pilipinas will return to action in Leg 2 of the tournament from August 9 to 11 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.