The Philippine Olympic Committee isn’t rebuilding — it’s reloading. With the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya just months away, the POC has moved fast, reappointing the same foreign coaches who led Alas Pilipinas through its most recent international campaigns and naming a combined 36-player pool across both the men’s and women’s programs. The message is clear: this is no experimental squad. The Philippines is coming to Japan to compete.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino confirmed that POC secretary-general Atty. Wharton has sent out formal letters reappointing Italian Angiolino Frigoni and Japanese Takayuki Minowa as head coaches of the Alas Pilipinas Men’s and Women’s teams, respectively, for the Asian Games running from September 19 to October 4. Both appointments take effect July 1 and expire October 15 — a lean, focused contract window built entirely around the tournament.

The pools draw heavily from battle-tested rosters. Most of the players named saw action either at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, which the Philippines hosted last September, or at the Bangkok Southeast Asian Games last December, giving both squads a meaningful foundation of international experience heading into Asia’s most competitive multi-sport stage.

The Coaches the Philippines Trusts — And Why That Matters

The reappointment of Frigoni and Minowa is more than a continuity decision — it’s a statement of philosophy. Rather than turning inward during one of the most turbulent periods in Philippine volleyball governance, the POC is doubling down on foreign expertise and the tactical systems both coaches have already installed in their respective programs.

Frigoni, the Italian tactician at the helm of the men’s side, will work with a squad headlined by Bryan Bagunas and Marck Jesus Espejo — two of the most recognizable names in Philippine men’s volleyball — alongside Lloyd Josafat, Jude Garcia, Michaelo Buddin, Leo Ordiales, Al Bukharie Sali, Rwenzmel Taguibolos, Ave Joshua Retamar, Josh Ybañez, Adrian Villados, Vince Patrick Lorenzo, Kristofer Rodge Alejos and Trevor Torio.

On the women’s side, Minowa takes charge of a deep 22-player pool that includes Eya Laure, Mhicaela Belen, Jia De Guzman, Alyssa Jae Solomon, Dell Palomata and Jennifer Nierva, among others. Given that most of the Alas Women are actively competing in the Premiere Volleyball League, the POC has formally reached out to PVL president Ricky Palou and commissioner Sherwin Malonzo to secure the league’s full cooperation and player availability ahead of the Games.

The POC Steps Up as Philippine Volleyball’s Governing Body

The backdrop to all of this is impossible to ignore. With the Philippine volleyball federation currently suspended by the FIVB, the POC has stepped in as the de facto manager of the national volleyball program — a responsibility it also carries for all national teams competing at the Olympics, Asian Games and SEA Games. It is an unusual arrangement, but the POC is treating it as business as usual, moving with urgency and structure.

That urgency is real. The deadline for the submission of Entry by Names to the Aichi-Nagoya Organizing Committee falls on Wednesday, July 1 — the same date both coaching contracts officially begin. The timelines are tight by design, and the POC appears to have planned accordingly, with roster identification and coach reappointments handled simultaneously to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

For Philippine volleyball — a sport navigating an extraordinary set of institutional circumstances — the road to Aichi-Nagoya is unlike any that came before it. But with familiar coaches, a proven player pool and the full weight of the POC behind them, Alas Pilipinas will arrive in Japan with something to prove, and the personnel to prove it.