BRAZILIAN Jorge Edson Souza de Brito will still be Alas Pilipinas women’s head coach until December next year, Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara announced on Friday in South Korea.
“After careful thoughts, consideration and consultation with the PNVF board, I would like to officially announce that we would like to retain Coach Jorge until the a SEA Games 2025,” said Suzara after Alas Pilipinas played Powerful Daegu of South Korea in the “Serve, Spike Unite” friendly match between the two teams in Daegu City.
Suzara made the announcement alongside PNVF national team commission chair Tonyboy Liao, team captain Jia Morado-De Guzman and team manager Hollie Reyes.
“There are so many events up ahead for Alas Pilipinas so let’s continue supporting the team and the program,” Suzara added.
Thailand is hosting the 33rd SEA Games from December 7 to 19 next year in Bangkok–Chonburi–Songkhla.
De Brito’s three-year contract under the FIVB’s Empowerment Program is supposed to expire at the end of this month, but the clamor to keep him hit the ceiling after Alas Pilipinas clinched a historic bronze medal in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup for Women at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum late last month.
Alas Pilipinas, meanwhile, stood its ground before falling short , 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 8-15, against Powerful Daegu in an exhibition match staged to celebrate the country’s Independence Day.
Led by Angel Canino and Morado-De Guzman, the Filipinas dragged the home bets to a deciding fifth set but unforced errors took a toll on the nationals, who were invited to the friendly by Ambassador to South Korea Theresa Dizon-De Vega.
Alas Pilipinas, whose trip to Daeju was also supported by Neocolors Production and Advertising Inc., came out with guns ablaze by snatching the extended first set, 26-24, behind the back-to-back hits from Canino and Faith Nisperos before yielding the next two frames via identical scores of 25-23.
De Brito would return the favor with a bang in the fourth set, 25-16, for the most lopsided set win in the tightrope contest but to no avail in the clincher as Daegu found its groove in time.
The match served as an exhibition game to mark the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and South Korea and the 126th Philippine Independence Day celebration with officials from the Korean government and its volleyball federation.
The friendly was part of Alas Pilipinas’s preparations for the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Challenger Cup, which the country is also hosting from July 4 to 7 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
