Alas Pilipinas’ Jennifer Nierva.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Inspired by the commitment of her teammates to represent the country, Jennifer Nierva hopes Alas Pilipinas’ upcoming AVC Challenge Cup stint will solidify the national team program.
“This is the first time that I felt that everybody here willingly wanted to be part of the national team. I heard them saying, ‘Coach, I want to be part of the national team,’” said Nierva in Filipino during the team introduction on Monday at Shangri-La Makati.
“That step is really a big step that you want to see, especially from the young players, they willingly want to be part of the national team.”
SCHEDULE: Alas Pilipinas at the AVC Challenge Cup
Jennifer Nierva on playing for Alas Pilipinas. @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/oFOhagai2N
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) May 20, 2024
Seeing the players’ commitment despite the limited preparation, the star libero believes the future is bright for Alas Pilipinas as long as the members stay together for the long haul and team up with other volleyball stars.
“I really am excited about our journey and this rare opportunity. We’re very grateful and honored to be here to be given a chance to represent the country, so I definitely believe that this team will go far,” said the Chery Tiggo libero.
Team captain Jia De Guzman, who has been playing for the country since 2015, had the same sentiment as Nierva, hoping for continuous support and commitment from the stakeholders of Philippine volleyball.
“The rise of Philippine volleyball is not an easy task. It takes years as it did with other countries as well. We’d like to express our thanks also to UAAP, PVL, and PNVF, all the parties involved for making this possible because it’s easier said than done to improve as a country — in any sport,” De Guzman said.
READ: Alas Pilipinas women’s making most out of short training period
“This is one big step towards that and hopefully, we keep saying that we have this very short preparation for this AVC, that is something that is out of our control but moving forward, hopefully, all the parties involved will continue to cooperate so we can each achieve our goals better in the future.”
Alas coach Jorge Souza De Brito only had a few days to prepare as they open their Pool A campaign against Australia on Thursday before taking on India on Friday, Iran on Saturday, and Chinese Taipei on Sunday.
Despite the limited preparation, Nierva is grateful for the commitment of her teammates, especially the presence of veterans like De Guzman and libero Dawn Macandili-Catindig for keeping the squad together.
“In training, we didn’t make huge adjustments because we have our ates who are great leaders and we have members, who are great followers also,” Nierva said.