ALAS Pilipinas Men claimed a huge scalp in back-to-back Indonesia Proliga champion Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi, 25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 25-22, in the three-day Invitationals on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Former NCAA MVP Louie Ramirez put on a scoring masterclass against their continental rivals with 25 points on 21 attacks, three blocks and one ace.
The series of friendly matches with teams from Indonesia, Thailand and Korea serves as the country's test event less than 100 days before the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Manila.
It also gives Alas Men head coach Angiolino Frigoni the chance to shuffle his deck of aces, currently a mix of national team veterans, college standouts and Fil-foreign hotshots, ahead of the global tilt.
"A win is always better than a loss. For us, these matches show what we have to improve more. It really doesn’t matter very [much] if you win or lose these matches," said Alas Men heaad coach Angiolino Frigoni.
"For us, it’s important for us to understand what we have to practice more. But of course, we are happy to win."
The likes of reigning UAAP MVP Kennedy Batas and La Salle playmaker Eco Adajar were able to make their national team debuts in the four-set contest and helped Alas seal the win in the home stretch.
Next up for Alas is the newly-crowned Korean Volleyball (KOVO) League champions Hyundai Capital Skywalkers on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Total team effort
National team mainstays Steven Rotter and Buds Buddin stepped up to the plate with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
But when Buddin felt discomfort in his left ankle late in the fourth set, it paved the way for Batas to play his first few minutes for flag and country where he pitched in three clutch points on two attacks and one block.
Middle blockers Kim Malabunga and Peng Taguibolos also had steady scoring performances with eight and six markers each.
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