Alas Pilipinas Men at the AVC Nations Cup. Asian Volleyball Confederation
Alas Pilipinas Men are now out of playoff contention in the Bahrain-hosted 2025 AVC Nations Cup.
This, as the Nationals absorbed a 19-25, 25-23, 28-30, 20-25 defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei in Pool C on Wednesday, ending group phase action without a win at 0-2.
Marck Espejo top-scored the losing cause with 26 points on 22 attacks and four blocks, with Leo Ordiales at second in the offensive with 15 points (13 attacks, two aces).
They tried to install a 2-1 lead in extended Set 3, reaching set point at 28-27, but Yu-Sheng Chang and Yu-Chen Chang were there to provide the much-needed scores for the Chinese Taipei side, as Espejo committed an unlucky attack error.
The eventual winners kept their distance in the final canto, establishing a 21-15 lead as the Alas Men failed to catch up.
READ: Alas Men fall short against Pakistan in Nations Cup opener
Espejo still notched a kill block to save match point, 24-20, but Yu Lin Liu was there to end things in Chinese Taipei's favor, hitting the game-winner to wrap things up after almost two hours.
Yesterday, the national team also suffered an unfortunate loss to Pakistan in four sets, 18-25, 12-25, 25-18, 22-25, to open its campaign.
With the result, they are now relegrated to the classification matches for the 9th–11th places.
They will battle the bottom finishers in the other pools for a better placement in the continental tilt.