Alas Pilipinas Men saw their title hopes dashed in the 2025 AVC Men’s Nations Cup following a hard-fought defeat, 19-25, 25-23, 28-30, 20-25, to World No. 45 Chinese Taipei on Wednesday evening at the Isa Bin Rashed Hall in Manama, Bahrain.
Riding high after sweeping the Alas Pilipinas Invitationals last week at the SMART Araneta Coliseum — where they defeated two Asian league champion clubs and regional powerhouse Thailand — the Nationals entered the AVC tournament with momentum.
However, they ended the group stage winless at 0-2 in Pool C, bowing out of quarterfinal contention.
Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, picked up a crucial win to secure a spot in the quarterfinals and will battle fellow pool leader Pakistan for the top seed on Thursday.
With the loss, Alas Pilipinas Men drop to the classification round for 9th to 11th place.
They will first face either Thailand or Indonesia — both from Pool A — on Friday, June 20.
The national team will then wrap up their campaign with a final match against the third seed of Pool D, which includes South Korea, New Zealand, and Vietnam, on Sunday, June 24.
A tightly contested third set proved pivotal.
The Nationals held three set points, the last coming off a clever backrow drop shot by Marck Espejo that gave the Philippines a 28-27 lead.
But errors at critical moments proved costly — Chang Yusheng’s backrow hit tied the set, followed by an over-received pass by Josh Ybañez that led to a Chang Yuchen kill.
An attack error by Espejo handed the set to Chinese Taipei and a 2-1 lead.
That heartbreaking third set seemed to deflate the Nationals, who struggled at the start of the fourth. Chinese Taipei raced to a 12-7 lead, with Wen Yikai and Chang Yusheng leading the charge.
Espejo and Leo Ordiales sparked a brief rally with back-to-back crosscourt kills to close the gap to 15-13. However, Chinese Taipei responded with a decisive 6-2 run, creating a 21-15 cushion that Alas could not overcome.
A service error by Li Yuan and an Espejo block erased two match points for Alas Men, but Chinese Taipei officially booked their ticket to the quarterfinals with a game-sealing attack by Liu Yu Lin.
Espejo shrugged off any concerns for the injury he sustained against Pakistan, pacing Alas Men with 26 points built on 22 attacks and four blocks with six excellent digs in the loss.
Ordiales continued his stellar play by pouring in 15 points — powered by a seven-point spurt in the third set — on 13 attacks and two aces. Meanwhile, National University teammate Peng Taguibolos tallied nine points in the losing effort.
Three-time NCAA champion Louie Ramirez scored eight points, while University of the East alum Lloyd Josafat chipped in seven points on three attacks and four blocks.
Chang Yusheng powered Chinese Taipei with 24 points on 21 attacks and three blocks, while Wen Yi-Kai and team captain Chang Yuchen contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively.
