ALINSUNURIN HOPES FOR SUSTAINED FAN SUPPORT FOR MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
MANILA, Philippines — The UAAP Season 87 men's volleyball Game Three Finals between the NU Bulldogs and the FEU Tamaraws drew a record crowd of 14,517 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last Saturday, May 17.
That huge fan turnout simply made Bulldogs head coach Dante Alinsunurin emotional, touched by the kind of such unprecedented support in UAAP men's volleyball and Philippine men's volleyball in general.
"I got really emotional earlier, I almost cried seeing what happened," said Alinsunurin, who led his team to a five-peat with a 25-16, 28-26, 25-23 Game Three win.
"Why did it take this long? We've been seeing progress in men's volleyball since 2019. It only got held back because of the pandemic. But now, I finally saw it."
Alinsunurin, who led the Philippine men's national team to a silver medal finish at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games here in Manila, hopes that fans would continue to come in droves at the men's volleyball games.
He said that this will only give more motivation for the players and coaches alike to perform better.
"I really hope this continues—not just within the NU community, but also with the FEU community that supported us. I hope it's not just a one-time thing. I hope in the upcoming men's leagues, the support is still there," said Alinsunuin, who coaches Choco Mucho in the PVL.
"This kind of situation really means a lot to the players and coaches because it motivates us to play and coach even better. We want men's volleyball to be more appreciated here in the Philippines," added the 16-year veteran coach.
Game Two of the championship series also saw a sizable gate attendance with 9,977 fans on May 14 at the Mall of Asia Arena, while the opener drew a decent 5,405 fan turnout on May 11 at the Araneta Coliseum.
FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo echoes Alinsunurin's thoughts.
"Thank you so much because men's volleyball is finally getting noticed. It's such a big deal to see this level of competition being recognized. I just hope you don't get tired of supporting us."
2025-05-19T08:18:52Z