With the national team calendar now clear of competitions, the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) has granted an early release for the Alas Pilipinas Women players, allowing them to return to their respective clubs ahead of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational.
PNVF chairman for national teams and PVL president Ricky Palou confirmed the move on Thursday night during the PLDT-Chery Tiggo clash, where national team standouts Alleiah Malaluan and Jennifer Nierva were in action for their clubs.
“President Tats Suzara of the PNVF released the players to their clubs, so they were allowed to play. I think they had a meeting the other night, and that’s when he announced that all the national team players could return to their clubs,” Palou told reporters.
He added, “The national team period officially runs until October 15, but there are no more games. Why hold them back? That was our discussion with President Tats Suzara. He said, since there are no games, the players can go back. Why keep them if the clubs need them? President Suzara is very accommodating.”
Despite being released early, the players will still train with the national team three times a week as part of preparations for the Southeast Asian Games later this year. Plans are also underway for an overseas training camp ahead of the biennial meet in Thailand.
“I think the plan is for the teams to allow the national team players to train with the national team three times a week until the end of this tournament,” Palou said. “After that, they are planning to train abroad, but they’re still finalizing the schedule.”
Among the 17 players released are Mars Alba, Justine Jazareno, and Fifii Sharma of Akari; Tia Andaya and Maddie Madayag of Choco Mucho; Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips of Petro Gazz; Julia Coronel of Galeries Tower; and Thea Gagate of ZUS Coffee.
Cignal’s Vanie Gandler and Dawn Catindig sat out the HD Spikers’ loss to Creamline, while Jia De Guzman is not part of the Cool Smashers’ lineup for the Invitational. PLDT’s Dell Palomata and Capital1’s top overall pick Bella Belen and Leila Cruz are also included in the released pool.
Palou emphasized, “So the plan is that until the Southeast Asian Games, until our Reinforced Conference ends at the end of November, the players will continue practicing with the national team three times a week. After the Reinforced Conference, they will go straight into national team practices.”
