Alleiah Malaluan talks to The GAME about her early days as a rookie for the PLDT High Speed Hitters.
Alleiah Malaluan may be a newcomer to the PLDT High Speed Hitters, but she’s feeling right at home thanks to a special set of ates who make sure that she belongs.
As she begins her Premier Volleyball League career with PLDT, Malaluan has found a safe space in the DLSU stars she once looked up to, with Kim Fajardo, Kim Kianna Dy, Majoy Baron, and Mika Reyes all playing under one shade of red.
“Actually, it made me a lot easier to adjust sa team, kasi I know my ates are there to guide me, and never nila akong hinayaan na mag-isa! They always tell me ‘Alleiah, dito ka!’, which I felt na sobrang laking tulong, kasi I felt the comfort sa team, and mas napapadali ‘yung adjustment ko,” Malaluan told The GAME in an exclusive interview during PLDT’s recent PVL on Tour championship thanksgiving event.
In fact, Malaluan even had a “welcome to PLDT” moment with these stars during the PVL Rookie Draft night last June, which immediately established a sense of safety as she entered her new team.
“Actually during the draft night kasi, si Ate Joy [Baron], Ate Kianna, and Ate Angge [Alcantara] ‘yung nandoon, tapos bigla nila akong inaya mag-TikTok ni Ate Joy at Ate Kianna!” Malaluan happily recalled.
“It was something that helped me adjust kagad, kasi sabi ko, ‘Okay, I’m very welcome in this team. Parang na-feel ko talaga ‘yung comfort sa team.”
But what about the rest of the High Speed Hitters? Like her DLSU ates, they have also made it a point to welcome Malaluan into their family, along with making it easy for her to open up as a natural introvert.
“I actually love to be with them kasi sobrang funny nila! Lagi nila akong inaaya na ‘Alleiah, dito ka!’ Kasi as someone who’s very introverted, parang sometimes I wanna be just there in the corner, so parang gusto nila kasali ako sa ginagawa nila talaga,” Malaluan said.
“Lagi silang ganon, which is something na sobrang happy ako na ganon sila. Kasi that’s the goal of Coach Rald [Ricafort] from the very start, parang maki-mingle ako with them and magkaroon ako ng connection.”
Making up for lost time
As glad as she is to find a safe space, however, Alleiah Malaluan knows that she still has to make up for lost time on the court with PLDT due to her national team commitments with Alas Pilipinas.
While it’s true that she has been solid throughout the ongoing PVL Invitational Conference, the former DLSU Lady Spiker admits that she is yet to really grasp PLDT’s system in place.
“Kahit nakakapag-training naman na ako sa kanila a few times, iba pa rin ‘yung feeling na nakakalaro mo sila, and I’m still in that period na I’m still adjusting with everything,” Malaluan explained.
“Kasi parang bilang pa lang sa kamay ‘yung number of times that I’ve trained with them, which is something I’m looking forward to pa. Kasi I need to build that connection one step at a time.”
On the other hand, Malaluan does bring added confidence coming from Alas, especially after she faced off against more physically imposing players during the 2025 VTV Cup last June.
“Kasi parang doon talaga napagana ‘yung diskarte ko and napagana ‘yung utak ko — paano ba ako makakahelp sa team, paano ba ako makakapuntos? Which is something pagdating nung PVL, pag every time na may binibigay na adjustments sa akin si coach, I always make sure na makuha ko siya agad kasi I know that could help me in the long run din sa team.”
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.
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