Philippines national volleyball teams in AVC and FIVB club tournaments
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The Philippine National Volleyball Federation sent representative teams in the 2021 Asian Men's and Women's Club Volleyball Championships under the name of Rebisco and Choco Mucho, brands of its sponsor Republic Biscuit Corporation. The teams don't belong to a domestic league with its players derived from the pool of the Philippine men's and women's national teams.
| |
| Full name | Philippines national volleyball team |
|---|---|
| Short name | Cignal |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Owner | Philippine National Volleyball Federation |
| Head coach | Angiolino Frigoni |
| League | None |
The men's team will play as a club again representing the Philippines at the 2025 AVC Men's Volleyball Nations Cup.
History
PSL All Stars
The Philippines under the previous national federation, Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas (LVP) has been represented by non-club teams in official FIVB and AVC tournaments. Republic Biscuit Corporation which owns the Rebisco brand has been supporting Philippine volleyball since 2017.[1]
The PSL All-Stars, a selection team from players of the Philippine Super Liga, was the country's representative at the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in Metro Manila rather than a regular club side. That team played as "PSL-F2 Logistics Manila" which finished last among 8th teams in that tournament.[2][3] The team featured again in the 2017 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship as "Rebisco-PSL Manila" due to a sponsorship deal with Republic Biscuit. The team likewise finished last at 8th place.[4] The selection team has also participated in other tournaments in Thailand and the PSL Super Cup.
National teams in club tournaments
Rebisco and PNVF
The Philippine National Volleyball Federation succeeded the LVP in early 2021. In June 2021, the PNVF secured a three-year sponsorship deal with Republic Biscuit Corporation. The company pledged to support the federation's national team programs.[5][6]
The PNVF entered the men's and women's national teams for the 2021 Asian Men's and Women's Club Volleyball Championships under the Rebisco name.[7][8] For the women's competition, the federation will field two teams composing of national team players.[7] The first team will composed of more established players and the second team will be a developmental side composed of younger players.[9]
Originally, the PNVF planned to send two teams in that competition; the national team under the Rebisco brand and the Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Crossovers winners of the 2021 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference.[10][11] However Chery Tiggo and all the other teams in the league declined to participate.[7] The PNVF will instead field a second team composing of national team players instead.[7] The second team was named Team Choco Mucho, after another brand of Republic Biscuit Corporation and shares the name with a PVL club, Choco Mucho Flying Titans.[12]
Choco Mucho placed sixth in the 2021 Women's Club Championship, besting the Rebisco team which settled for seventh place.[13] The men's Rebisco team on their part finished 9th out of 10 teams in their tournament.[14]
'Cignal'
The men's national team will compete under the name "Cignal" at the 2025 AVC Men's Champions League in Japan, sharing the name of the Cignal HD Spikers – the 2024 Spikers' Turf Invitational Conference champions. This is a result of an approved request by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation to the AVC and is part of the national team's preparation for the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship which the Philippines will be hosting.[15] The staff decided not to use any foreign reinforcement despite being allowed to use up to three.[16] The squad also has players outside the Spikers' Turf club Cignal despite its name.[17] They finished last in the preliminary round conceding games to Osaka Bluteon and Shanghai Bright.[18]
Current roster
The following were the Philippine national team rosters for the 2025 AVC Men's Volleyball Champions League.
| Cignal HD Spikers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Position | Name | Date of birth | Height | Other current club |
| 3 | S | Joshua Retamar | March 7, 2000 (aged 25) | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |  Cignal HD Spikers |
| 4 | L | Vince Lorenzo | July 11, 1999 (aged 25) | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 5 | OP | Steve Rotter | April 16, 1998 (aged 27) | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 7 | MB | Kim Malabunga | May 8, 1996 (aged 29) | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | Criss Cross King Crunchers |
| 8 | MB | John Paul Bugaoan (c) | January 8, 1999 (aged 26) | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 10 | S | EJ Casaña | January 18, 1999 (aged 26) | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 11 | OH | Joshua Umandal | March 8, 1999 (aged 26) | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 14 | L | John Michael Paglaon | June 5, 2000 (aged 24) | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | Savouge Spin Doctors |
| 15 | OH | Marck Espejo | March 1, 1997 (aged 28) | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | Criss Cross King Crunchers |
| 16 | MB | Gian Glorioso | June 8, 1997 (aged 27) | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | Criss Cross King Crunchers |
| 17 | OH | Miguel Wendel | August 21, 1995 (aged 29) | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 20 | MB | Lloyd Josafat | September 18, 1999 (aged 25) | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 21 | OH | Louie Ramirez | April 14, 2000 (aged 25) | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | Cignal HD Spikers |
| 25 | OP | Ike Barilea | November 9, 2004 (aged 20) | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | One Silay |
Source:AVC and Philippine Daily Inquirer
Previous rosters
The following were the Philippine national team rosters for the 2021 Asian Men's and Women's Club Volleyball Championships.
Men's
Team Rebisco (2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: PNVF and match #21 P–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Women's
Team Rebisco (2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: AVC and match #15 P–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team Choco Mucho (2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: AVC and match #15 P–2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Competitive record
Head coaches
- Men's
| Team | Coach | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Rebisco | Dante Alinsunurin | 2021 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship |
| Cignal |  Angiolino Frigoni | 2025 AVC Men's Champions League |
- Women's
| Team | Coach | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| Rebisco |  Jorge Edson | 2021 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship |
| Choco Mucho | Odjie Mamon |
See also
- PLDT HOME TVolution team – non-league men's and women's team formed specifically for the 2014 Asian Men's and Women's Club Championships
- Philippines men's national basketball team in FIBA club tournaments – another national team which was entered in tournaments meant for clubs
- Philippines men's national volleyball team – national volleyball team representing Philippines
- Philippines women's national volleyball team – national volleyball team representing Philippines