ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Volleyball devider Alyssa Valdez: Right now, we're a volleyball country

Alyssa Valdez: Right now, we're a volleyball country

Published Jun 24, 2024 05:10 am

At A Glance

  • For heavy hitter Alyssa Valdez, the Philippines' successful hosting of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) men's tournament became a solid proof of the present shift from being a long-time basketball-crazed nation to an obvious volleyball country.

For heavy hitter Alyssa Valdez, the Philippines’ successful hosting of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) men’s tournament became a solid proof of the present shift from being a long-time basketball-crazed nation to an obvious volleyball country.

 

alyssa.jpg
Alyssa Valdez (PVL Media)

 

The former national team captain was not the first one to say the same thing after noticing the rise of volleyball locally and beyond among the Filipinos.

“I think I'm gonna say it. But I think right now, we are a volleyball country or a volleyball nation. Napakasayang makita na punung puno ‘yung arena. It’s so nice to see them both cheering for the USA and Japan. Napakagandang scenario rito sa venue. We’re just really hoping mag-continue ‘yung support ng community sa volleyball in general here in the Philippines and all over the world,” Valdez said, who had a brief interaction with American setter and captain Micah Christenson.

From the collegiate scene to the pro ranks, volleyball fans simultaneously filled the venues of UAAP and PVL games  – drawing in mammoth crowds in the past few months without fail.

Only this time, the Filipinos surprised the visiting volleyball royalties including Team USA as they flocked the Mall of Asia Arena for six straight days to conclude the country's three-year hosting of the tournament, something that the Creamline spiker wants to become a sustained interest.

With more younger children pursuing volleyball, Valdez is also hoping to see the emergence of the Philippines in the international stage beyond just hosting. 

One way she finds that possible is for the professional men’s volleyball to earn the same reception through the Spikers’ Turf.

“Sa amin pa nga lang players ang rami na namin natututunan visually. What more and most especially ‘yung mga nagsisimula pa lang sa volleyball. Magandang exposure ito sa kanila. Sana mas maganda pa ‘yung ipakita natin at mag-improve tayo as a team. Sana mag-start rin to na panuorin ‘yung Spikers’ Turf and volleyball games in general as we support these teams in the VNL,” she said.

Following its commendable hosting, the FIVB has granted the PNVF another solo hosting rights for the 2025 Men's Volleyball World Championships, with 32 teams including the host nation pitted against each other on a larger scale. 

 

Related Tags

Alyssa Valdez Volleyball Nations League Creamline Cool Smashers
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.