Alas Pilipinas Men captain Bryan Bagunas expressed gratitude to the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for responding to his concerns after he revealed the lack of financial support for the squad at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Bagunas also shared that private entities have reached out to the team, while PNVF president Frank Lao handed out P20,000 in allowances to the players, as revealed by the federation in its recent statement.
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"Nagpapasalamat naman ako sa PNVF, PSC sa pag-respond nila dun sa naging statement ko. 'Yon, siyempre, malaking bagay para sa amin na sumagot sila sa naging statement ko. Alam namin na nandiyan pa rin sila na handa kaming tulungan," said Bagunas on Monday.
"Ayon, may mga private ano rin na nag-ano sa amin, tumulong. Nung nakaraan, nakipag-meeting ako kay sir Frank Lao. Binigyan naman nila kami ng allowance na pagpunta dito, 20k each. And 'yung Rebisco din, nagbigay din, si sir Jonathan. Aside from that, very thankful pa rin kami," he added.
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Bagunas said that fans have also personally messaged him to help the squad tackle its financial issues.
"Sobrang na-overwhelm kami do'n, talagang kahit mga fans, talagang kahit sa 'kin, may mga personal na nagme-message, kung ano raw kailangan ng team. Talagang sabi tutulungan nila kami. We're very thankful naman sa nangyaring 'yon, na talagang handa silang tumulong para sa team," he said.
The Alas skipper underscored that they are not using the issue as an excuse for their losses.
"Focus lang muna kami dito sa game namin, 'di naman namin gagawing excuse 'yung financial ano. Kasi nandito kami para ipakita kung anong meron 'yung Philippine volleyball."
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The Alas Men are bound for the classification phase after two straight-sets losses at the hands of China and South Korea in Pool D.