Win some, lose some as Alas Pilipinas Men take the podium for the first time ever in the SEA V.League despite the game loss to Thailand and the injury situation of star spiker Bryan Bagunas.
Sans star hitter Bryan Bagunas, Alas Pilipinas just didn’t have enough to challenge regional powerhouse Thailand.
Alas Pilipinas Men took a three-set beating to the Thais, enduring a 26-28, 14-25, 16-25 loss Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to cap leg 1 of the 2024 SEA V.League.
As a consolation though, Alas still took a bronze medal, finishing behind new gold medalist Thailand and Indonesia, who had to settle for silver after ruling both legs of the first SEA V.League for men last year.
The Alas Men took a spot in the podium thanks to their opening-day win over Vietnam, which also marked the Philippines’ first win in the short history of the tournament.
[Related: Alas Pilipinas keep fingers crossed as Bryan Bagunas goes down with apparent knee injury]
Noel Kampton picked up the scoring cudgels for Alas, finishing with 10 points in the loss.
[Related: Bryan Bagunas steers Alas Pilipinas Men past Vietnam for first-ever win in SEA V.League]
The Philippines missed the services of Bryan Bagunas, who suffered an apparent knee injury Saturday in the last play of the game during the Alas Pilipinas loss to Indonesia.