ALAS Pilipinas Men fell on the wrong end of a reverse sweep with a crushing 25-18, 25-18, 14-25, 23-25, 7-15 loss to defending champion Thailand in Leg 2 of the 2025 SEA V.League on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Philippines’ medal chances took a hit as it dropped to 1-2 (win-loss) before closing out the tournament on Sunday against Vietnam.
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Down two sets to none, the Thais averted an imminent upset by breaking loose in Set 3 with a 11-4 blitz led by reigning MVP Kissada Nilsawai and captain Amorntep Khonhan.
The nationals tried to close the match out again in the fourth set where they were one point away from tying the match at 24-all, only to be negated by a costly Alas error.
Alas Men leaned on its National U trio in Peng Taguibolos, Leo Ordiales and the returning Buds Buddin to keep the nationals' fading bid for victory afloat.
Come the tiebreak, Alas just couldn't douse Thais' scoring firepower with Khonhan and Nilsawai standing strong at the forefront.
Thailand turned the fifth set into a one-sided affair by scoring nine of the last 11 points to keep its four-peat bid alive with two wins in three matches.
The Philippines has now lost thrice to Thailand in competitive play this year, twice in the SEA V.League and once during the 2025 AVC Nations Cup classfication stage.
There is still a slim window open for Alas Men to reach the podium on the final day of the competition.
They must first pull off a repeat win over Vietnam, ideally in straight sets, and hope for a superior tiebreaking quotient against either Vietnam, Thailand or Indonesia in the event of multiple ties.
Meanwhile, a loss to Vietnam on Sunday will entail back-to-back top four finishes in both legs of this year's regional meet.
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