November 27, 2025
An Ashburton volleyball team has beat Auckland to claim the top spot in a national tournament. The Ashburton Warriors Club sent two teams into volleyball battle during the Kiwi-Filipino event, Pistang Pinoy, and came back with a gold and silver medal, and also won the tournament overall.
Pistang Pinoy brings Kiwi Filipinos together for events including basketball, billiards and beauty pageants, and at the same time is a celebration of Filipino food and culture. The Ashburton Warriors’ men’s team won gold this year in a first for Ashburton, and Canterbury.
“We were the first from the South Island club to bag that,” Warriors’ executive committee member Aline Ciron said. “The North Island actually gets it most of the time.” There were 18 teams in the men’s division, with everyone’s top picks for gold being two teams from Auckland.
“They were really good, and were always the champions,” fellow committee member Ken Aguila said. The team played five elimination rounds before quarter finals, semis and making it to the final, with Aguila saying it was tense. “The first two sets, [Ashburton] lost,” he said.
In the third set, the Auckland team just needed one point, the score was 24-21, and they would bag the championship. “But the team held on, scored to tie, and eventually won that set.” They won the fourth set and then the decider in what was “the best set” Aguila had ever watched in her years of attending the tournament.
“It was really nothing short of monumental for us, considering that Ashburton is not a huge city, compared to the rest.” Their club’s mixed team was undefeated until the finals where scheduling issues meant they lost some key players. “The finals [for men’s and mixed] happened at the same time,” Aguila said.
“We decided the men’s event was the biggest. We kind of sacrificed the mixed division. “Because we won the gold for men’s and silver for the mixed, Ashburton for the first time in history [were] the overall champions of volleyball.” Aguila said Ashburton’s perseverance despite the long days - an 8am to 8pm two-day event - is what secured their teams medals.
“They were mostly farmers as well. Maybe that helped them with their stamina.” “We are also very thankful for the community support that came from the local businesses,” Ciron said, with some stepping in to donate fruits and sponsor the team. “It helped us a lot.” Aguila said it was an emotional win for the players and the executive committee.
“Even though we weren’t playing on that team, we really cried our hearts out. We worked so hard to build that team up.” “There’s no cash prize in this. It’s really a battle of pride.
By Anisha Satya
An Ashburton volleyball team has beat Auckland to claim the top spot in a national tournament. The Ashburton Warriors Club sent two teams into volleyball battle during the Kiwi-Filipino event, Pistang Pinoy, and came back with a gold and silver medal, and also won the tournament overall.
Pistang Pinoy brings Kiwi Filipinos together for events including basketball, billiards and beauty pageants, and at the same time is a celebration of Filipino food and culture. The Ashburton Warriors’ men’s team won gold this year in a first for Ashburton, and Canterbury.
“We were the first from the South Island club to bag that,” Warriors’ executive committee member Aline Ciron said. “The North Island actually gets it most of the time.” There were 18 teams in the men’s division, with everyone’s top picks for gold being two teams from Auckland.
“They were really good, and were always the champions,” fellow committee member Ken Aguila said. The team played five elimination rounds before quarter finals, semis and making it to the final, with Aguila saying it was tense. “The first two sets, [Ashburton] lost,” he said.
In the third set, the Auckland team just needed one point, the score was 24-21, and they would bag the championship. “But the team held on, scored to tie, and eventually won that set.” They won the fourth set and then the decider in what was “the best set” Aguila had ever watched in her years of attending the tournament.
“It was really nothing short of monumental for us, considering that Ashburton is not a huge city, compared to the rest.” Their club’s mixed team was undefeated until the finals where scheduling issues meant they lost some key players. “The finals [for men’s and mixed] happened at the same time,” Aguila said.
“We decided the men’s event was the biggest. We kind of sacrificed the mixed division. “Because we won the gold for men’s and silver for the mixed, Ashburton for the first time in history [were] the overall champions of volleyball.” Aguila said Ashburton’s perseverance despite the long days - an 8am to 8pm two-day event - is what secured their teams medals.
“They were mostly farmers as well. Maybe that helped them with their stamina.” “We are also very thankful for the community support that came from the local businesses,” Ciron said, with some stepping in to donate fruits and sponsor the team. “It helped us a lot.” Aguila said it was an emotional win for the players and the executive committee.
“Even though we weren’t playing on that team, we really cried our hearts out. We worked so hard to build that team up.” “There’s no cash prize in this. It’s really a battle of pride.
By Anisha Satya
