Alas Pilipinas Men fought until the very end—and they were rewarded with a bronze medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
The Bryan Bagunas-led Alas Men ended a six-year podium drought in the biennial showcase, clinching a third-place result via an exhilarating five-set comeback over Vietnam, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 16-14, in the bronze medal match of the indoor volleyball competition, Friday in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bagunas acknowledged the lapses they had in the first two frames, going down 0-2 against the Vietnamese. However, they kept themselves motivated by telling each other that "it ain't over until it's over."
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"Nung una, medyo nagkulang kami. But 'yon, sinabi namin sa isa't isa na 'di pa tapos 'yung laban. Talagang nilaban namin hanggang sa dulo. Sobrang saya namin at nakuha namin 'yung bronze medal," said Bagunas as he was interviewed by POC Media.
"Actually, kaming lahat sinabi namin sa isa't isa na ilaban namin. Mahaba pa 'yung laban [at] hindi naman natatapos 'yung laro sa two sets lang," Bagunas noted. "Nilaban namin hanggang dulo, and nakita ko naman sa mga teammates ko na talagang inilaban nila."
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The Alas leader also discussed what went right for them, highlighting their prowess on the net, as well as lessening errors.
"Naka-side out kami nang maayos, then na-less namin 'yung errors namin sa service. 'Yung defense namin, nako-convert to the point namin," he added. "Saka 'yung block defense namin, sobrang effective."