Alas Pilipinas Men drop to the classification round after a hard-fought loss to Chinese Taipei in the 2025 AVC Nations Cup.
Alas Pilipinas remain winless in the 2025 AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup after suffering their second defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei, 19-25, 25-23, 28-30, x-25, at the Isa Bin Rashid Hall, Isa Town, Bahrain on Wednesday, June 18.
Looking to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive, Alas Men suffered another heartbreak after keeping it close against Chinese Taipei throughout the match.
After failing to secure the extended third set, the Philippine squad was forced to play catch-up in the fourth set, with Chinese Taipei taking a three-point lead in the frame.
But Alas Men simply had no answer for Chang Yu-Sheng, who extended Chinese Taipei’s lead at 21-15.
To make matters worse, team captain Marck Espejo went down with a left knee injury after a back-row attack. Espejo was able to get back up and continued playing.
Errors hounded Alas Men all night long, committing 29 errors compared to just 21 from Chinese Taipei. Liu Yu Lin capped the game off with an off-the-block hit.
Espejo led the Philippines with 26 points on 22 attacks and four blocks. Leo Ordiales also had a solid outing with 15 markers in the loss.
Alas Men will now head to the classification round, where they will look to finish in 9th place.