Without Marck Espejo, Alas Pilipinas will be targeting big wins on home court in the first leg of the SEA V.League starting this Wednesday, July 9.
Kim Malabunga and Leo Ordiales will banner a retooled Alas Pilipinas squad as the men’s national volleyball team kicks off its 2025 Southeast Asia V.League campaign against familiar rival Vietnam on Wednesday, July 9, 6 p.m. at the Candon City Arena.
With veteran Marck Espejo and libero Jack Kalingking unavailable, Malabunga steps up as team captain while Ordiales takes charge of the scoring duties in front of a home crowd in Ilocos Sur.
It will be the first international match in the country for Alas since their AVC Nations Cup stint in Bahrain last month.
Alas enters the SEA V. League with confidence, having swept Vietnam in both legs of the tournament last year.
But this time, Vietnam arrives with a chip on their shoulder, fresh off an eighth-place finish in the AVC Nations Cup, where star opposite Ngoc Thuan Nguyen led the team in scoring.
The Filipino spikers, meanwhile, settled for 10th in the 11-nation field in Bahrain, missing a head-to-head against Vietnam.
Now back on home soil, they’ll bank on the fresh legs of newcomers Jade Disquitado, Kennedy Batas, and Vince Lorenzo to inject energy into the lineup.
With Malabunga’s leadership and Ordiales’ firepower, Alas Pilipinas will aim to extend its mastery of Vietnam while giving fans in Ilocos Sur a spirited start to their SEA V.League campaign.
[ALSO READ: SCHEDULE, RESULTS | Alas Pilipinas Men host SEA V.League Leg 1 in Candon]
(With reports from Luisa Morales)
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[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]