Alas Pilipinas suffered twice the pain on Saturday night after falling to Indonesia in four sets and losing ace spiker Bryan Bagunas in the process.
The Philippines started strong, but fell flat against Indonesia, 25-23, 19-25, 11-25, 20-25, to absorb its first loss in the 2024 Men’s Southeast Asia V.League at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
With the Indonesians a point away from securing the win, Ahmad Guimilar committed a service error before Bagunas went for a back row attack to keep the Filipinos in the match, 21-24, late in the fourth frame.
In an attempt to save the match, the 6-foot-5 outside hitter, Bagunas, went for his signature jump serve but landed awkwardly on his left foot, eventually clutching his left knee as he grimaced in pain.
With the ball still alive, Farhan Halim went for the counter and finished things off for the Indonesians. Bagunas was stretchered out of the court immediately after the match.
“I know they are worried because Bryan is one of our strongest players, but this is a team sport and now everybody has to work even harder to finish this week strong,” said PNVF president Tats Suzara. “We hope Bryan’s injury is not severe, I hope he’s okay.
“Everyone’s stepping up already, winning against Vietnam is something big. Today could have been better. But we will persevere, there is still the match against Thailand to look forward to.”
Coming off a 25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23 win over Vietnam, the Filipinos sustained their momentum to open the game but unfortunately got left in the dust against the much experienced Indonesian side to fall to 1-1 in the standings.
Holding a one-point advantage in the opener, Bagunas scored a booming ace to push the Philippines to a 24-22 lead, but he then committed a service error in his ensuing attempt which put Indonesia within one.
Owa Retamar then took matters into his own hands, dumping the ball against a tall Indonesian frontline to give Alas Pilipinas a 1-0 set advantage.
Unfortunately, the Filipinos fell short in the second before suffering a beating in the third, which saw the Indonesians seize an early 14-5 lead and never look back en route to a 2-1 lead over the hosts.
Bagunas finished with 17 points, all on attacks, to lead the Alas Pilipinas, while Buds Buddin chipped in 16 markers.
The Philippines will take on unbeaten Thailand tomorrow, Sunday at 6:00 p.m. at the same venue.
Fahri Septian Putrama scored 21 on 19 attacks and two blocks, while Halim Fahran added 16 and Hendra Kurniawan chipped in with 13 for Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Thailand staved off Vietnam in a tightly contested straight-set encounter, 27-25, 29-27, 25-15, for a 2-0 start in the tournament.
Bhinijdee Napadet had 13 points on 11 attacks and two aces to lead the Thais, who were coming off a win over Indonesia yesterday, while Nilsawai Kissada and Thungkham Chaiwat tallied 12 and 11, respectively.
On the other hand, Vietnam’s Nguyen Ngoc Thuan led all scorers, registering 17 points on 12 attacks, three blocks and two aces.
