Bella Belen sounds the alarm as Alas Pilipinas scrambles to complete SEA Games training pool

With the 33rd Southeast Asian Games just weeks away, star outside hitter Bella Belen has raised a red flag over the incomplete attendance at Alas Pilipinas Women’s training sessions—warning that the national team cannot afford to fall behind regional rivals who have been preparing far longer.

“Hopefully, makapag-training na po lahat kasi mahirap mag-prepare nang ilang araw lang, lalo na yung mga kalaban po namin sa SEA Games matagal nang nagpe-prepare,” Belen said on Monday after Capital1’s quarterfinal exit in the PVL Reinforced Conference. 

 It was a candid admission from the three-time UAAP MVP, who has spent the past month juggling the intense demands of her club schedule and national team duties.

What makes her situation unusual is that both squads are under the guidance of one man—Brazilian tactician Jorge Souza de Brito. 

That overlap has allowed Belen to transition between responsibilities, but the setup is still far from ideal.

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BELLA’S ROOKIE YEAR OVER

Capital1’s Bella Belen breaks down her rollercoaster rookie year and looks forward to suiting up for Alas Pilipinas in the 33rd SEA Games. #PVL2025 #PVLReinforced #AlasPilipinas @spinph pic.twitter.com/YC1UyqmHIp

— John Mark Garcia (@johnmarkdg_) November 24, 2025

“Nagte-training naman na po. Tuloy-tuloy po yung training ng Alas hanggang SEA Games,” she explained. “Kami sa Capital1, mga players, nagi-start naman. Paminsan-minsan nagte-training kami. Kapag wala kaming training sa Capital1, nagte-training po kami for the national team.”

But while Belen manages to squeeze in extra sessions, Alas Pilipinas has been running its practices with numbers far too thin for a team racing toward an international campaign. De Brito previously revealed that national team workouts often had only two to four players, sometimes stretching to six on good days—an alarming shortage with the SEA Games opening on December 9.

On Tuesday morning, however, a breakthrough finally arrived. Opposite spiker Alyssa Solomon rejoined national team training after Osaka Marvelous—her club in Japan’s V.League—approved a rare midseason loan. Her return reunites the celebrated NU tandem of Belen and Solomon, a combination that has long been central to the country’s youth and senior volleyball programs.

The complexity of Solomon’s release only emphasized to Belen how important it is for the rest of the pool to follow suit.

“Kailangan mag-show up pa rin,” she stressed. “Kasi sa SEA Games, kung sinuman po yung i-lineup, very deserving naman talaga lahat kahit hindi naman lagi na maglalaro or what.”

Despite the uncertainties, Belen remains firm in her commitment to the flag.

“Every time na makapasok ako sa court, I will make sure na I will do my best for the national team, for the Philippine flag.”

In the coming days, team officials expect the full 14-woman roster to finally assemble—a long-awaited moment that may determine whether Alas Pilipinas enters the SEA Games as a cohesive, competitive unit, or a group forced to rely on talent over time.

For now, Belen’s message stands as both a plea and a warning: the clock is ticking, and the rest of Southeast Asia isn’t slowing down.

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