Bella Belen happy to play alongside Angel Canino in Alas Pilipinas

From being rivals in the collegiate scene, Bella Belen and Angel Canino are now playing alongside each other in Alas Pilipinas.

The two played for the first time together with the national team in the FIVB Challenger Cup on Friday where the Philippines absorbed a straight sets loss against Vietnam.

Belen said she was happy to play with Canino in the national team.

"Very happy kasi nakasama ko si Angel sa national team. Siyempre, kalaban ko siya ng UAAP, ngayon magka-teammate na kami," Belen said about Canino.

(I'm happy I'm with Angel in the national team. We are opponents in the UAAP and now we're teammates.)

Bella Belen happy to play alongside Angel Canino in Alas Pilipinas @gmasportsph @gmanews pic.twitter.com/9IYkqYc6P1

— JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) July 5, 2024

Both Belen and Canino copped Rookie MVP honors in the UAAP, with the former getting it first in Season 84, while the latter had it after. Both players also won the UAAP title with their respective teams.

"I think magiging maganda 'yung connection namin 'pag nag-training pa nang matagal. I think kaya namin i-bring out 'yung best sa aming dalawa."

(I think we will have a better connection if we trained more. I think we can bring out the best in each other.)

In terms of the team's performance against Vietnam, Belen also believes additional training time would have given Alas a better performance.

"I think ginawa naman po namin 'yung best namin and siguro kasi, 'yung Vietnam, matagal na silang nagte-training. Kami kasi, lalo na ako, galing pa akong vacation. I think kaya namang lumaban. Kailangan lang ng mas mahabang preparation," she added.

(I think we gave our best and perhaps Vietnam was training for a longer time. I came from a vacation and we had a short period of training time. I think we can give a fight, we just need more preparation.)

—JKC, GMA Integrated News