Alas Pilipinas Men at the 2026 SEA V Cup. Photo from SAVA
CANDON, Ilocos Sur — Alas Pilipinas Men are now out of semifinal contention in the 2026 SEA V Cup.
This, as the Nationals fell to Indonesia, 20-25, 23-25, 25-27, to conclude the pool phase on Friday at the Candon City Arena here.
They are now relegated to the fifth-place match, where they are set to tackle Myanmar at 1 p.m., Saturday.
“We made mistakes, some mistakes, but we are still there. And we play every point. And I am very proud of them,” said Alas Men head coach Angiolino Frigoni after the match.
READ: SEA V Cup: Alas Pilipinas Men lose to Cambodia in 5, in must-win scenario vs. Indonesia
It was a valiant effort for the Filipino spikers, especially in the third set where they even led by five midway through, 17-12, but squandered it to the resilient AVC Men’s Cup champions.
They also sat on a two-point lead late, 23-21, after a sharp spike by Axel Van Book, but the Indonesians against clawed their way back, and even reached match point at 25-24.
A Rodge Alejos crosscourt hit saved one match point, 25-apiece, but Ahmad Gumilar found the spike that gave them the one-point edge once more, as Jude Garcia’s attack sailed out, conceding the match in three sets.
“To the players we have in the middle of the court now (cooling down), almost all of them are in their first international experience. And I said, ‘I am proud of you,’ because they fight for every point,” added Frigoni.
READ: Josh Magalaman impresses in Alas Pilipinas debut
Trailing 0-1 in Set 2, Alas Men almost had their moment, but they could not seize it. After conceding set point advantage, as Lirick Mendoza’s serve went straight into the net, 24-21, they stayed in the match after Indonesian Boy Arabi’s service error and a Josh Magalaman attack, trimming the lead to one 24-23.
However, Sigit Ardian was there for an off-the-block attack — a hit the Filipino spikers could not save — as the visitors advanced to a 2-0 lead.
The Magalaman magic was there once again, scoring a total of 13 points on eight attacks and five blocks, while Garcia added 10 markers built on nine attacks and one block.
Fauzan Rama Fazza dealt the most damage to the Philippine team, firing 13 points as Indonesia closed out Pool A with a 2-0 record in the tourney presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and Candon City Mayor Eric Singson.
VIETNAM ELIMINATES MYANMAR
Earlier in the day, Vietnam eliminated Myanmar, 25-18, 25-23, 25-19, to clinch the third Final Four seat.
Vietnam men’s volleyball head coach Federico Rampazzo was pleased to see the performance of his players, despite only handling them just this May.
Team Vietnam at the 2026 SEA V Cup. Photo from SAVA
“I’m very proud of what they try to do. They are really eager to learn and they keep learning and I believe we are in the right path,” said the Italian mentor.
Nguyen Ngoc Thuan top-scored for the Vietnam side with 22 points, while Pham Quoc Du chipped in 13 markers. Meanwhile, it is the end of the road for Myanmar's semis dreams after a 0-2 result in Pool B.