Alas Men bow out of SEA V. League with another fourth-place finish

 Alessandra Gwen Santos 

Alas Pilipinas Men put up a valiant fight but came up short once again, finishing just outside the podium after a four-set loss to a familiar rival, Vietnam, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17, 25-16, to cap off Leg 2 of the SEA V. League in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 20.

Photo Courtesy of ABS-CBN News

Looking to rebound from a tough first leg in the annual regional tournament, Alas wrapped up their campaign with a 1-3 record—mirroring their previous finish and falling short of a medal yet again.

Vietnam, on the other hand, secured the bronze medal and now awaits the result of the Indonesia-Thailand clash, hoping for an Indonesian win to potentially leap to a silver finish.

Despite falling behind early in the opening set, bench sparkplug Steve Rotter came in firing—delivering timely attacks and a key block—but Vietnam held firm, closing the set with a kill block off a broken play to draw first blood, 1-0.

In search of a momentum shift, spiker-turned-libero Josh Ybañez dug a heavy hit that led to a clean conversion from Jade Disquitado, sparking a fiery 6-0 run that carried Alas through to tie the match at one set apiece.

But the Vietnamese quickly struck back.

Dialing in at the right moment, Vietnam surged ahead in the third frame with a dominant 13-6 run that Alas failed to contain, handing the foes a 2-1 lead.

From there, Alas Pilipinas couldn’t recover. Vietnam uncorked a mid-set barrage in the fourth frame to close out the match and hand the Filipinos another stinging fourth-place finish.

With their SEA V. League stint now in the rearview mirror, Alas Pilipinas turn their focus to a grander stage—the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, which the Philippines will proudly host this coming September.