AFTER a crushing sweep of Bahrain, the Philippines marched onwards in the classification stage of the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-17 win over Macau on Thursday (local time).
The nationals' new men on deck in Steven Rotter and Ryan Ka took charge in dispatching Macau for a second time in the tournament after a similar straight-set victory in the pool phase.
Although a quarterfinal berth was not meant to be for the Philippines in its competition debut, a seventh-place finish is still within reach with two more wins.
Next up for national team tactician Sergio Veloso's wards on Friday is a vengeful Mongolia side that the Philippines also dispatched in the prelims in five sets.
The nationals will face either the winner (for seventh place) or loser (for ninth place) of the Chinese Taipei-Kazahkstan match which also takes place on Friday.
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