ALAS Pilipinas Men ran out of gas in a 21-25, 20-25, 18-25 loss to Thailand in the 2025 AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup classification stage on Saturday in Manama, Bahrain.
The Thais gained a measure of revenge just nine days after their five-set loss to the Philippines to close out the Alas Pilipinas Invitationals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
READ: Alas Men booted out of Nations Cup in four sets by Chinese Taipei
Buds Buddin paced the loss in a dismal scoring night for the nationals with eight points, three receptions. and two digs.
Louie Ramirez and Peng Taguibolos added six markers apiece, as the opposite hitter duo of tournament-leading scorer Leo Ordiales and Steven Rotter each had five points.
It was a tough night for Marck Espejo, who had 31 in the Invitationals against Thailand, with just one point this time in the grudge match.
Thailand won the first set with the exact same scoreline from their Independence Day duel, 25-21.
The Filipinos gave away 11 free points in that opening frame through a series of unforced errors. In total, they had 26 faults in the match.
Sharp defense not enough for Alas
A fatigued Alas side found a silver lining on the defensive front, led by Taguibolos who produced four of the nationals’ seven blocks.
In the end, veteran Thai captain Amornthep Khonhan was much too good for the Philippines to stop with a game-high 14 points and five digs.
Alas will play one last classification match against New Zealand on Tuesday to determine their final ranking in the tournament.
This will be their last match before entering another major international competition in the Southeast Asian (SEA) V.League, with Leg 1 slated from July 9 to 13 in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.
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