Alas Pilipinas Women and Men welcome Miyu Nagaoka’s Saga Hisamitsu Springs and Yuji Nishida’s Osaka Bluteon for two days of volleyball action.
More Alas Pilipinas to start the BER months.
Both the men’s and women’s national volleyball squad will see action in the two-day Alas Pilipinas Invitationals on September 7-8 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Alas Pilipinas Women will battle well-decorated Japanese hitter Miyu Nagaoka and nine-time Japan V.League champion Saga Hisamitsu Springs in a pair of tune-up matches starting 3:00 p.m.
On the other hand, Alas Pilipinas Men welcome Japan national team superstar Yuji Nishida and the Osaka Bluteon, formerly Panasonic Panthers, in another set of back-to-back friendly matches slated at 6:00 p.m.
The women’s squad are coming off back-to-back bronze medal finishes in the SEA V.League after fruitless campaigns in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the tournament.
[ALSO READ: Alas Pilipinas make it back-to-back bronze medals in SEA V.League]
Alas Women will likely play the pair of matches without team captain Jia Morado-De Guzman, who rejoins the Denso Airybees for the upcoming Japan V.League season.
Meanwhile, the men’s national team continue to gear up preparations for the upcoming 2025 FIVB Volleyball World Championship to be held in the country.
Alas Men are coming off their own back-to-back podium campaigns in SEA V.League in their first tournament under new coach Angiolino Frigoni.
[ALSO READ: Alas Pilipinas Men outlast Vietnam to salvage bronze in SEA V.League Leg 2]
But the Nationals will also be missing star hitter Bryan Bagunas, whose status remained unclear after suffering an apparent leg injury in Leg 1 of the SEA V.League.
[ALSO READ: Alas Pilipinas Men rally behind 'heart and soul' Bryan Bagunas]