ALAS Pilipinas Men brushed off a third-set hiccup to beat Cambodia, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, for its first Leg 2 win in the 2025 SEA V.League on Friday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Alas improved to a 1-1 (win-loss) record as tournament newcomer Cambodia slid to 0-3, still without a win in both legs combined.
READ: Indonesia repeats over Alas Men in five-set SEA V.League thriller
Spoiling the win, however, was Buds Buddin’s injury scare in the second set at the 15-14 mark with Alas ahead. He no longer saw action for the remainder of the match.
Buddin tried to improvise a quick push of the ball off a broken play but landed on the foot of Cambodia's Srenglyhour Keo.
Taking Buddin's place as the lead outside hitter the rest of the way was Jade Disquitado, who teamed up with the returning Louie Ramirez to put the Cambodians away.
Lead setter Owa Retamar also endured a scare in Set 3 where he barely held onto the net to keep his balance, but was able to play on.
Alas Men faces three-time defending champion Thailand on Saturday.
Five-setter no more
Down 15-21 in the third set, the nationals went on an 8-3 blitz in a bid to close out their second assignment of the Jakarta leg in straight sets.
But Louie Ramirez’ serve for a chance to draw level at 24-all sailed out, forcing Alas to grind it out for one more set.
The Philippines took over right from the start in Set 4 where it mounted a 9-2 match-clinching run to avoid an encore of their five-set contest in Leg 1 last week in Candon City, one Alas still managed to win.
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