KUMPIYANSA sina Sen. Alan Peter at Pia Cayetano na magiging matagumpay at memorable ang hosting ng Pilipinas sa FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2025 dahil sa matinding pagmamahal ng mga Pinoy sa sports.
Sa press launch ng official music partner at ambassadors ng torneo noong Marso 4, binigyang-diin ng magkapatid na senador ang likas na sigla at init ng pagtanggap ng mga Pilipino, na nagtatangi sa bansa bilang host ng mga pandaigdigang kompetisyon.
“Wherever Filipinos are, people think so highly of them. Of course, we have great official ambassadors here, pero ang tunay na ambassadors natin ay ‘yung [mga strong tulad ng] taxi driver, the person who serves them sa hotels,” saad ni Senator Alan.
Dagdag pa niya, isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit kinikilala ang Pilipinas bilang world-class host ay dahil sa hospitality ng mga Pilipino.
“We’re so confident. Because in any international hosting, there’s one thing they talk about—how much they love Filipinos. How hospitable [Filipinos are,]” aniya.
Bilang Chairman Emeritus ng Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), binigyang-diin ni Senador Alan ang kakaibang sigla ng Pinoy fans kahit sa mga dayuhang koponan.
“I think we’re the only country in the world that cheers for the other countries as much as we cheer for ourselves. So tuwang-tuwa ‘yung ibang teams coming here,” sabi niya.
Dahil ito ang kauna-unahang solo hosting ng Pilipinas sa prestihiyosong volleyball tournament, hinimok niya ang media, mga sports fans, at maging ang gobyerno na tiyakin ang tagumpay ng event.
“We have to be at our best. If we do things right, we could even surpass our tourism targets for the year,” sabi niya.
“Advice ko lang sa 110 million Filipinos — let’s prepare, but let’s just be ourselves,” dagdag niya.
Ayon naman kay Senador Pia, bagamat walang event na perpekto, ang pagiging mabilis umaksyon at pag-aalaga ng mga Pilipino ang dahilan kung bakit naiiba ang Pilipinas bilang host.
“It’s impossible to expect ‘perfect.’ But what Filipinos add to it is, ‘we’ll take care of it.’ If something happens, we react. Filipinos are diehard hosts,” ani Senador Pia.
Nanawagan din siya sa publiko na makiisa para gawing matagumpay ang FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2025.
“We should all help each other to make these guests feel special—because they are. They trained hard to show their best in the World Championship,” aniya.
“We want to take care of them and really make them feel that we’re so happy that they came here. Not just the players, but also all the spectators and supporters,” dagdag niya.
