MORE eyes will be on Alas Pilipinas Men this time around after their historic run as the second-best performing Asian team at the Philippine-hosted 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.
With that heightened attention comes equally heightened expectations to deliver a medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
READ: Bagunas, Espejo back to lead intact Alas Men lineup for SEA Games
“Naging maganda ‘yung run ng Philippines against sa mga top countries [sa World Championship] kaya I'm sure po and confident po na lahat ng makakalaban namin sa SEA Games, pinaghahandaan talaga tayo,” said seasoned national team mainstay Marck Espejo.
“All eyes on us po, pero siyempre, different level, different ambiance.”
Nobody would've projected the Philippines to finish as high as 19th in a stacked 32-team FIVB Worlds field back in September, one that has since went down among the greatest breakthroughs to be embedded in the annals of local sporting lore.
But on the regional stage, a deep run is no longer a fantasy. It is, and should be, an attainable and realistic target.
“Mag-aadjust lang po kami sa mga makakalaban namin ngayon kasi last World Championship po, nothing to lose kami kaya maganda ‘yung performance,” Espejo said.
“Ngayon sa SEA Games, nando’n ‘yung pressure, expectations, pero underdog pa rin kami dito at gagawin namin ‘yung best namin para makapasok sa Final Four.”
Bronze, silver, then gold?
Before their unforgettable silver medal on home soil in 2019, the Philippines last reached the SEA Games podium back in 1997 with a bronze, in an era when Indonesia hosted and dominated the tournament.
The country’s earlier top-three finishes in 1979, 1981, 1983, and 1991, along with the first-ever silver in 1977 in Malaysia, form the historical pillars of men’s volleyball success in the biennial meet.
With this year’s team holding a legitimate chance to push even further, Espejo remains grounded as their focus is not on gold just yet but on securing the chance to fight for it first in the group stage against Myanmar (Dec. 13) and three-time defending SEA Games champion Indonesia (Dec. 16).
“Ito po talaga ‘yung pinaghahandaan namin, na makakuha ng medal this SEA Games,” he said.
“Any color po will do.”
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