ALAS Pilipinas Men managed to take a set off Indonesia this time, but the ending remained painfully familiar.
The Philippines crashed out of semifinal contention for the second straight leg following a 18-25, 17-25, 25-23, 19-25 defeat to the hosts in the 6th SEA V.Cup on Friday in Jakarta.
READ: Alas Men yield to Leg 1 winner Cambodia yet again in SEA V.Cup
Given the starting nod after opening Leg 2 off the bench, Lirick Mendoza struck the right chord with 14 points on 13 attacks and one block as the FEU middle blocker was in-tune all-game long in his best Alas Men outing yet as an opposite.
Jude Garcia backed the Nationals' cause with 11 points, the only Alas Men player in double figures in both Leg 2 matches.
Despite showing more resistance than in their Leg 1 meeting, Alas Men still dropped to 0-2 in pool play, condemning themselves to the same fate they suffered in Candon, where back-to-back losses to eventual Leg 1 finalists Cambodia and Indonesia also knocked them out of the Final Four race.
The victory also marked Indonesia's 12th win over the Philippines in international competition since 2019.
Alas Men now shifts its focus to a familiar assignment: another fifth-place playoff against still-winless Myanmar.
The Nationals beat the Burmese side in Candon to avoid a last-place finish in Leg 1, and will look to do the same in Jakarta to salvage another fifth-place result.
Promising performance for Alas Men
Indonesia looked posied to take a routine straight-set win after comfortably taking the first two frames, but the Philippines found its rhythm in the third.
Alas Men held slim leads throughout the set and weathered an Indonesian fightback after the hosts tied it at 23-all. Al-Bukharie Sali answered with a clutch down-the-line attack for set point before Louie Ramirez roofed ace winger Boy Arabi at the net to force an extension.
The Nationals stayed within striking distance early in the fourth, but Indonesia broke away from a 19-17 lead with a match-ending 6-2 run to clinch Pool A and deny Alas Men a shot at sudden death.
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.
