KYRGYZSTAN’s men’s volleyball team will not take the court against Alas Pilipinas Men for the 13th-place game on Saturday, handing the Philippines a 3-0 victory by forfeit in the Asian Games.
Tournament organizers confirmed the development in the daily news bulletin on the official website, saying it had received confirmation from the Kyrgyzstan team that it would not participate in its final classification game.
READ: Alas Men top Uzbekistan in Asiad classification stage
The match will therefore see the Filipinos awarded all three sets, 25-0, 25-0, 25-0.
“The Technical Delegate received confirmation from the KGZ team that they will not participate in Match #42 between KGZ and PHI,” the news bulletin wrote.
“Therefore, the match will be declared a forfeit, with the official result recorded as 0–3 (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) in favor of PHI.”
The forfeit brings an unusual end to Alas Men’s Asiad campaign, one that unfolded amid financial issues within the team that came to light during the tournament.
Captain Bryan Bagunas had earlier revealed that some players had not received allowances since July, with teammates forced to borrow money and shoulder their own expenses for transportation and meals.
With the continental meet now over, Bagunas has also penned a note of gratitude on social media, thanking those who supported the Philippines throughout.
“Maraming salamat po sa lahat nangg patuloy na naniwala at sumuporta sa Alas. Baon namin ang mga aral at karanasang ito habang patuloy kaming nagsisikap para sa Philippine volleyball,” he said.
“Mahal namin ang volleyball. Higit sa lahat, mahal na mahal namin ang Pilipinas.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
