ALAS Pilipinas Men can still make amends for dropping out of the podium on home soil in Leg 1 of the 2025 SEA V.League in Candon City roughly two weeks ago.
With a 1-2 (win-loss) record, a silver medal finish is the highest placement Alas Men can still attain in the ongoing second leg of the regional meet in Jakarta, Indonesia.
READ: Alas Men blow two-set lead in SEA V.League loss to Thailand
And in the history of Philippine men's volleyball, there has only ever been two silver medals won in international play back in the 1977 and 2019 editions of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Malaysia and the Philippines, respectively.
With one match day left in Leg 2, here's where each team stands:
- INDONESIA: 3-0 (8 pts); 3.000 set ratio (SR)
- THAILAND: 2-1 (6 pts); 1.333 SR
- VIETNAM: 2-1 (5 pts); 1.400 SR
- PHILIPPINES: 1-2 (5 pts); 1.000 SR
- CAMBODIA: 0-4 (0 pts); 0.167 SR
The scenarios this time are quite simpler than when Alas Men still had a slim gold medal shot before the final day of Leg 1 action on home soil.
Medal or bust for Alas
This time around, a loss automatically drops the Philippines to fourth-place yet again regardless of how many sets they drop to Vietnam or how the Indonesia-Thailand match plays out.
An Alas win over Vietnam, should the nationals repeat their 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 Leg 1 sweep, will guarantee at least a bronze medal.
Even if an Alas win entails a 2-2 tie with Vietnam, the Philippines will move ahead by virtue of superior match points.
The best case scenario even has Alas winning silver if Thailand also loses to Indonesia, as the Philippines will surpass both Indonesia and Vietnam's match points output in the event of a triple-tie at 2-2.
A Thailand win over Indonesia, on the other hand, will give the Thais a fourth SEA V.League title outright if they do it in three our four sets, as a five-set match will entail further complications in the other statistical tiebreaking metrics.
Alas vs. Vietnam will be played first at 5 p.m. before the potential title=decider between Indonesia and Thailand at 8 p.m.
By then, the nationals would've have learned if a third international silver, an eighth international bronze, or back-to-back top four finishes will be in order.
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