Alyssa Valdez, Ara Galang share long-awaited national team moment

“Syempre, ayun nga, kami nga happy. After a long time, tsaka hindi naman namin expected. Siguro nga destined ngayon. Thankful ako na nakasama ko siya sa team, sa national team pa,” said Galang, who previously missed opportunities to play for the national team due to injuries.

Fans got a fleeting glimpse of those long-imagined what-ifs when Valdez and Galang spearheaded a spirited third-set fightback, pushing a more experienced South Korean side to the brink before ultimately falling short, 16-25, 18-25, 22-25.

“Sayang, pero maganda naman yung nakipagsabayan kami nakadikit kami. Effort lang yung sa last point, yun nga sayang,” Galang added.

For much of the past decade, that partnership never had the chance to take shape. Galang’s career was repeatedly derailed by a knee injury that kept her from fully sharing the international stage with Valdez.

It began in 2015, when she suffered an ACL tear in her left knee, along with damage to her MCL and medial meniscus. The injury sidelined her from the Asian U-23 Women’s Volleyball Championship and the Southeast Asian Games.

The setbacks carried into 2017, with recurring problems in the same knee forcing her out of the Asian Women’s Seniors Volleyball Championship and another SEA Games campaign.

Two years later, in 2018, she once again opted not to push through with the Asian Games. That extended a stretch of missed opportunities that kept her from realizing her national team dream — and from ever fully forming the envisioned pairing with Valdez.

“Super grateful lang talaga ako,” said the former La Salle star, who built a storied rivalry with Valdez during college, facing her four times in the UAAP Finals — five if not for the same injury that kept Galang out late in Season 77.

“Unang-una dahil hindi ko in-expect. Masasabi natin too late na, pero ‘yun nga, super grateful lang ako sa opportunity na ito na dumating pa rin sa akin kahit papaano,” she added, cherishing the chance to finally don the national team colors for the first time in her career.

For Valdez, the timing feels just right, with both veterans now finding themselves on the same side of the net after years of rivalry in this tournament co-presented by FIVB, AVC, Volleyball World, and Candon City headed by Mayor Eric Singson.

“Alam mo, I think late ‘man ‘to sa career namin, pero I think it’s the right time talaga,” said the three-time PVL MVP.

“It’s the right time to actually inspire each other more towards the latter part of our careers. So, napakasaya rin makasama talaga si Ara Galang. Iba ‘yung fire nito, talagang makikita mo na lalaban talaga.”

Yet for all its unexpected timing, the sight of Valdez and Galang together on the same side of the court felt strangely fitting, almost destined, even. Two careers long defined by rivalry, finally converging after more than a decade spent on opposite sides of the net and across different leagues.

In doing so, they gave the Philippine volleyball community a rare moment of unity amid the sport’s ongoing internal disputes and tensions.