Long before the resurgence of volleyball in the Philippines in the late 2010s and early 2020s, two male players had already become the nation’s pride as they played imports in the Malaysian Volleyball League.

Oliver Balse, who once played for the University of Santo Tomas Golden Spikers in the UAAP, became the first-ever Filipino to play as an import in a foreign league when he joined a Malaysia-based team in 1991.

Less than a decade later, Parley Tupaz joined Balse in the Malaysian Volleyball League as he signed with a Penang team that won the championship in the late 90s.

Right now, many other Filipino volleyball players have entered the door that Balse and Tupaz opened many years ago.

Get to know more about them and their career in this article.

Bryan Bagunas

After his UAAP career, which saw him win two championships with the National University Bulldogs, Bryan Bagunas took his talents to Japan in 2019 to play for the Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler in the V.League Division 2.

Bagunas didn’t find success in Japan with the Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler, as he left the team in June 2022. In August of the same year, Bagunas joined the Taiwanese club in an invitational tournament and the Top Volleyball League.

In the 2022-23 Top Volleyball League season, Bagunas won the championship with Win Streak. He also took home the Best Outside Spiker and Most Valuable Player Awards. For the 2023-24 Top Volleyball League season, Bagunas once again led the team to the championship.

Unfortunately, Bagunas suffered an ACL injury while representing the Philippines at the 2024 SEA Men’s V.League, which sidelined him.

Marck Espejo

In the UAAP, Marck Espejo is already in the history books as he won five Most Valuable Player awards during his entire collegiate career. Aside from those MVPs, Espejo was also hailed as the Rookie of the Year in Season 76, Best Attacker in Season 77, Best Attacker and Best Server in Season 78, Best Attacker and Best Scorer in Season 79, and Best Scorer, Best Attacker, and Best Server in Season 80.

In his last year for the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, Espejo made history after a 55-point game in their semifinals match against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. He also led the Blue Eagles to three consecutive championships.

In May 2018, Espejo signed for the Japanese club Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler as their import. After his stint in Japan, Espejo joined Visakha in the Men’s Volleyball Thailand League.

In November 2020, Espejo went to Bahrain to play for Bani Jamra in the Isa bin Rashid Volleyball League. Unfortunately, the team placed last in a league of six teams in the 2020-21 season.

After his short stint in Bahrain, Espejo moved back to Japan to play for FC Tokyo in the 2021-22 season of the V.League. After a one-year break during the pandemic, Espejo was picked by the Incheon Korean Air Jumbos in the 2023 KOVO Men’s Asian Quota Draft.

In 2024, Espejo returned to the Philippines to play for the Criss Cross King Crunchers in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference. Afterwards, he returned to Japan to play for Kubota Spears Osaka for the 2024-25 season of the V.League.

Jau Umandal

In his two years playing for the University of Santo Tomas Golden Spikers, Jau Umandal failed to win the championship as his playing years were cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in January 2022, Umandal’s talent didn’t go unnoticed as he signed to play for Bani Jamra in the Isa bin Rashid Volleyball League, a first division league in Bahrain. Unfortunately, Umandal only played for six games with the team.

Madz Gampong

Madz Gampong may not be as powerful as Bryan Bagunas, but he was one of the players of the National University Bulldogs who ended their losing streak against the Marck Espejo-led Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles in the UAAP.

In Season 80, Gampong and Bagunas were instrumental in their first win against Ateneo since Season 76. In the end, the team won the championship, the first in their historic five-peat.

In 2022, Gampong played for the Sarawak Hornbill at the 2022 Malaysia Volleyball League. The team ended the tournament just outside the podium finish.

Currently, Gampong is part of the Cignal HD Spikers in Spikers’ Turf.

Jayvee Sumagaysay

Jayvee Sumagaysay was once part of the University of Santo Tomas Golden Spikers as a middle blocker. Although he did not win a championship in the college division, Sumagaysay finished on the podium on consecutive occasions as a member of different teams.

In 2022, Sumagaysay also played for the Sarawak Hornbill at the 2022 Malaysia Volleyball alongside Madz Gampong. Currently, he is playing for the D’Navigators Iloilo in Spikers’ Turf.

Parley Tupaz

Unknown to many, Parley Tupaz, who was once a long-time assistant coach of the Ateneo de Manila University women’s volleyball team, also played in the Malaysian League following the footsteps of Oliver Balse.

According to Tupaz, Balse was already playing in Malaysia when he was recruited by Malaysian officials after seeing him play in the 1997 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta. He played for the Penang team in the league, which he also led to a championship.

Oliver Balse

The first Filipino volleyball player to ever play abroad was Oliver Balse, who once played for the University of Santo Tomas Golden Spikers in the UAAP.  A former member of the Philippine National Men’s Volleyball Team, Oliver played in the Malaysian League in the 90s, where he was awarded as Best Import.

After his stint in Malaysia, Balse suited up for the Philippine Men’s National Team in various tournaments before hanging up his jersey for good.