The Alas Pilipinas national men’s volleyball team put up a gallant stand before dropping a tight contest in straight sets, 16–25, 25–27, 22–25, to South Korea in their opening match of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya on Sunday.
While the scoreboard stung, the real crisis happened long before the opening serve.
Team captain Bryan Bagunas in an interview with Cignal dropped a bombshell after the match, revealing that national team members—many of whom are student-athletes—have not received a single cent of their allowances since July.
The financial drought has turned daily training into an elite obstacle course. With zero state funding trickling down over the past couple of months, players have had to resort to playing point guard with their personal finances—borrowing money from senior teammates and peers just to afford bus fare to the gym and a ride back home.
“Sobrang hirap para sa amin na mag-ensayo araw-araw,” disclosed Bagunas, noting that attendance regularly plummeted to a skeleton crew of just seven or eight players because teammates literally couldn’t afford the commute.
“Naintindihan ko naman kasi most of the players are student-athletes. Talagang nagtulung-tulong lang kami para makapag-ensayo kami ng kumpleto,” said Bagunas, who plays for Osaka Bluteon, a club team in the Japan SV League.
At least six of the Alas men’s team are still in college.
Despite the roster scraping by on loans and sheer grit, Alas nearly pulled off a stunner in the second frame, forcing set point twice before unforced errors handed the Koreans the sweep.
With a brutal financial reality off the court and a quick turnaround against China ahead, it turns out Alas Pilipinas’ toughest opponent isn’t just across the net—it is waiting in the payroll queue.
