The long wait is over for Philippine women’s volleyball following the announcement of the country’s hosting of the 2029 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship accompanied by a seven-year volleyball development program that the national athletes have been dreaming of.
For the longest time, Alas Pilipinas Women captain and setter Jia de Guzman has been hoping to set foot in the grandest volleyball showpiece.
This, following Alas Pilipinas Men’s fierce campaign in the 2025 edition that included a historic four-set win against world No. 27 Egypt and nearly holding off No. 16 Iran in their five-set thriller for a 19th-place finish in the 32-team tournament. They were ranked the second-best Asian team behind the Iranians.
With four years to prepare and sort everything out, de Guzman is upbeat about the possibilities awaiting the women’s squad once it begins its long and hard journey.
“We’re so, so happy. We couldn’t believe it at first. But biglang napunta kami sa [ganitong situation] that’s giving us a lot of time to prepare for it. But with what the Alas Men team showed, with 16 months of preparation tapos ganyan kaganda ‘yung pinakita nila. There’s so many possibilities talaga. We’re just so happy na we are going to be given the opportunity to represent the Philippine women’s team naman on this stage,” de Guzman said.
(We’re so, so happy. We couldn’t believe it at first. But we were placed into this situation that’s giving us a lot of time to prepare for it. But with what the Alas Men team showed, with 16 months of preparation, and look at how well they performed. There’s really so many possibilities. We’re just so happy that we are going to be given the opportunity to represent the Philippine women’s team this time, on this stage.)
For national team libero Dawn Macandili-Catindig’s part, those four years of preparation granted to the Philippines will give the women’s team a chance to prove itself against volleyball powerhouses and what it takes to do so.
“Sobrang excited kami siyempre going against top teams in the world. Gusto rin naming malaman kung hanggang saan ‘yung maaabot namin in four years,” Macandili-Catindig echoed.
“Siguro with the men’s performance mas nai-inspire kami to do our best also on our part. Kung maayos lahat and hopefully everyone is on the same page for the program and the system that Alas is building [it will bring another positive result],” the libero added.
(Of course, we’re so excited going against top teams in the world. We want to find out how far we can go in four years… I guess with the men’s performance, it’s inspiring us more to do our best also on our part. Hopefully everything goes well and everyone is on the same page for the program and the system that Alas is building.)
De Guzman, who captained the women’s side to a silver-medal finish in the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup followed by a bronze medal conquest in the 2025 SEA Women’s V.League, is hoping that the national team can take advantage of the early hosting announcement.
Unlike for the men’s counterpart when the Philippines was still in the process of bidding to host less than two years before the competition, the women’s side has a chance to aim higher with a longer timetable.
“Well, actually sobrang ganda na this early pa lang sinabihan na tayo kung kailan mangyayari ‘yung World Championship for women. Kasi that’s what’s happening naman sa FIVB Worlds calendar. It’s set pretty early to give all of the teams enough time to prepare. So we can’t really bank on what we’ve been doing the past years na few weeks lang for the tournament ‘yung preparation and then.. kasi the past tournaments, the past years have been very kind to us in terms of results. But that’s only banking on weeks, a few months of preparation. This time, we’re years ahead. So we have to take advantage of this,” said de Guzman.
(Well, actually, it’s really good that this early, we were told when the World Championship for women will be held. Because that’s what’s happening in the FIVB World calendar. It’s set pretty early to give all of the teams enough time to prepare. So we can’t really bank on what we’ve been doing the past years where we only have a few weeks preparation for tournaments. The past tournaments, the past years have been very kind to us in terms of results. But that’s only banking on weeks, a few months of preparation. This time, we’re years ahead. So we have to take advantage of this.)
“And hopefully, all of the teams, all of the clubs, all of the universities can support us [through] this. The world is already seeing how good the Philippines is. We have so much potential talaga. And we wanna show up, we wanna give our best. But we can only give our best if we’re given the time to prepare. That’s it,” she added.
The seven-year development program unveiled by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick Gregorio together with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and FIVB’s backing will also be crucial in helping the Philippines realize another opportunity of a lifetime in the world of sports.
“If you listen to the interviews ng mga top four, top six, top eight teams na naglaro rito sa World Championship this year, even Bulgaria, even the USA, all of them kept saying the same thing. They wanted to see how far or how close they are to the best teams in the world. No one ever mentioned the podium, no one ever mentioned the medal. They just wanted to show up, play their best, and represent their country. They make the most out of the opportunity of learning from the best teams in the world. That’s what we want also,” de Guzman said.
“And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we really want to take advantage of. So we’re really banking on and hoping for the support that we need. Para makita na natin kung hanggang saan ang Pilipinas at saka mag-grow din talaga tayo as a country,” she continued.
(If you listen to the the interviews of the top four, top six, top eight teams that played here in the World Championship this year, even Bulgaria, even the USA, all of them kept saying the same thing. They wanted to see how far or how close they are to the best teams in the world. No one ever mentioned the podium, no one ever mentioned the medal. They just wanted to show up, play their best, and represent their country. They make the most out of the opportunity of learning from the best teams in the world. That’s what we want also… And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we really want to take advantage of. So we’re really banking on and hoping for the support that we need. So we can see how far the Philippines can go and so that we can really grow as a country.)
With this, the decorated playmaker is urging all talents across the country to join the cause—particularly the next generation of athletes who are up for the demanding duty ahead.
“We’re really happy kasi they also announced a long-term seven-year program. This is something that we’ve been waiting for. Everyone sa volleyball community, men’s, women’s, beach volleyball, this is the kind of program we’ve been waiting for years,” de Guzman said.
“And it’s inspiring also for the next generation to come in right now. Now is a really good time to come to Alas to show the world what we’ve got. We need the best of the best talaga. Not just the best of the best, we need people who want to work for the country, to learn from us also ‘yung team, training with even the best talents from high school, from college. Ang laking bagay talaga sa amin to invite na sumali talaga sa ganu’ng klaseng programa ngayon,” she concluded.
(And it’s inspiring also for the next generation to come in right now. Now is a really good time to come to Alas to show the world what we’ve got. We really need the best of the best. Not just the best of the best, we need people who want to work for the country to learn from us also, the team, training with even the best talents from high school, from college. It will really be a big thing for us to invite to join a program like this now.)
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
