ALAS Pilipinas Men head coach Angiolino Frigoni described their group stage finale loss to Iran as one similar to being thrown a cold bucket of water from a good night’s sleep.
READ: Iran ousts brave Alas Men from FIVB Worlds in five-set thriller
With the Philippines’ FIVB Worlds campaign feeling like a dream too good to be true, having to wake up from it in the manner that they did easily became the hardest part.
“I feel pity in a way that we lost because we were in a dream, and they woke up just one point before the dream was finished,” Frigoni said.
“But that's the life, that's the life of the sport.”
Frigoni tried to pull off the same last-minute challenge his Italian compatriot did for Iran that abruptly halted the Filipinos' celebrations late in the fifth set.
And while the outcome didn't favor the Nationals, the what-ifs on how the match ended still won’t outweigh the promise of a young team in its first crack at world play.
“We played with skills, with power, with heart, with mind. I am happy for it,” he added.
“I should prefer to finish this match losing a match 15-10 or 15-8 or 15-7. This way is very, very painful. But by the way, I am very proud of them. Very, very proud of them.”
All hail Alas Men
All Frigoni wanted for Alas Men before the tournament started wasn’t to win sets, let alone win matches in a stacked group.
His vision was to see the Nationals compete at the level set by their Pool A rivals in Tunisia, Egypt, and Iran that are among the cream of the crop in the men’s game for the longest time.
And if that, alone, was the metric for gauging the success of the Philippines team's global debut, Frigoni would consider this campaign a huge success.
“You saw them. I don't have to tell you anything. You saw them. Everybody saw them and how they fought,” Frigoni said.
“For that, I am proud because we never, never gave up. Never.”
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