ALAS Pilipinas Men crashed out of semifinal contention in the SEA V.Cup after a 20-25, 23-25, 25-27 defeat to Indonesia on Friday at the Candon City Arena, leaving the hosts to play for no better than fifth place.
READ: Alas Men yields five-set loss in SEA V.Cup opener to Cambodia
The loss dropped Alas Men to 0-2 in Pool A after an opening setback to Cambodia, sending the hosts out of the Final Four in the tournament's first year with a six-team field and a semifinal playoff format.
Instead of chasing its first medal in two years, Alas Men will take on winless tournament debutant Myanmar in Saturday's fifth-place playoff at 1 p.m.
The result also extended the Philippines' head-to-head skid against Indonesia to seven matches since the tournament's inaugural staging in 2023, with five of those losses coming in straight sets.
Endgame woes for Alas Men
Indonesia grabbed the opening set before taking control of the match with a 24-21 lead in the second.
Alas Men fought off two set points on an Indonesia rotation error and a quick attack from breakout tournament performer Josh Magalaman, but Ahmad Gumilar capped a combination play to snatch Indonesia the frame, 25-23.
The hosts responded with their best stretch in the third, opening a 17-12 cushion before Indonesia reeled off five unanswered points to pull level at 17-all.
Magalaman later sent the Philippines to set point first at 24-23, before Rodge Alejos erased Indonesia's first match point. But the Indonesians wouldn't be denied a second time as Jude Garcia's attack drifted wide, handing the visitors the straight-set sweep.
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