ALAS Pilipinas will face a team that is no stranger to Philippine volleyball come the 2025 VTV Cup quarterfinals on Thursday.
Thailand’s under-21 national team, branded as Est Cola, finished third in Pool B and will be the Philippines’ first hurdle in the knockout playoffs after locking in the No. 2 seed in Pool A.
READ: Alas ends VTV group stages with momentum after sweeping Australia
The young Thai squad played in local shores nine months ago during the 2024 PVL Invitational Conference.
There, they finished fourth in the five-team field.
Their only win came against Farm Fresh in a five-set classic at the Mall of Asia Arena, 22-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-20, 17-15.
Come the VTV Cup quarterfinals, three holdovers from Est Cola’s PVL squad will cross paths with Alas in outside hitter Kwannaphat Nualwan, opposite hitter Papatchaya Phontham and libero Nichakom Wansuk.
Former PVL champion and Creamline import Kuttika Kaewpin, Est Cola’s captain in this year’s VTV Cup, will skip the playoffs after being called up by Thailand’s senior national team for the ongoing Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
Alas’ possible playoff path
Should Alas beat Est Cola, the nationals will gain at the very least a spot in the bronze-medal match for a chance to match Choco Mucho’s third-place finish in 2023.
The Philippines’ potential semifinals opponent is either defending champion Korabelka from Russia or a rematch with Australia.
Dethroning the Russian side in the semis may still set up a potential AVC Nations Cup final grudge match with Vietnam, bar any upsets from one of Vietnam’s under-21 team in the quarterfinals or either Chinese-Taipei or China’s Sichuan Wuliangchun.
A quarterfinals loss would send Alas to the classification round instead.
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