Alas Pilipinas put up a spirited fight but ultimately fell to host Indonesia, 18-25, 17-25, 25-23, 19-25, on Friday at the Jakarta International Velodrome, dropping to the fifth-place playoff in the second leg of the 2026 SEA V Cup.
The Philippines will face Myanmar once again in Saturday’s battle for fifth place after also finishing fifth in the tournament’s first leg in Candon City, Ilocos Sur last week.
Lirick Mendoza delivered his best performance to date as an opposite spiker, helping Alas Pilipinas force a fourth set after the Filipinos escaped with a hard-fought 25-23 victory in the third.
Al-Bulkharie Sali ignited the late rally with a back-row attack before Joshua Magalaman capped the set with a crucial block on Boy Arabi.
Indonesia, however, quickly regained control in the fourth set behind the strong play of second-stringers Luvi Nugraha and Sigit Ardian, completing a sweep of Pool A.
The Filipinos finished their Pool A campaign winless after also suffering a straight-sets defeat to first-leg champion Cambodia on Thursday. This was a somewhat better performance against Indonesia, however, as the team fell in straight sets in their first meeting on July 17.
Mendoza paced Alas Pilipinas with 14 points built on 13 attacks and a block, while Jude Garcia added 11 markers. Sali also turned in his best outing of the tournament with eight points, while first-leg standout Magalaman chipped in seven.
Luvi led all scorers with 15 points, while middle blocker Ahmad Gumilar contributed 13 points on eight attacks, four blocks, and an ace.
With the victory, Indonesia advanced to the crossover semifinals against Vietnam, while Thailand and Cambodia will square off in the other semifinal pairing.
