After a long and painful wait, Bryan Bagunas finally made his much-anticipated return to Alas Pilipinas.
Bagunas delivered an outstanding performance that nearly dragged the Philippines back into contention, but the team ultimately bowed to World No.43 Tunisia, 25-13, 25-17, 25-23, in their FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship debut on Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Alas Pilipinas skipper expressed his relief at finally stepping back on the court, more than a year since an unfortunate knee injury in the SEA V.League sidelined him for almost the entire buildup to the World Championship.
“Sobrang saya ako kasi almost a year bago ako nakabalik sa loob ng court. Sobrang masaya ako na nakakatulong ulit ako sa team,” Bagunas said.
Unfortunately, his comeback ended in defeat, with the Filipinos struggling to find their rhythm in the first two sets before staging a spirited third-set rally that fell just short.
Bagunas erupted for a game-high 23 points, including a six-point barrage that erased a 17-23 deficit to tie the third set. But Tunisia held firm and delivered the decisive blows in the closing moments.
The former Spikers’ Turf MVP admitted that the team needs to cut down on their errors if they want to pull off an upset against World No.13 Iran and No.23 Egypt in their upcoming matches.
“Nakita naman natin sa game na napakaraming errors. Siguro less errors sa next game and focus sa mga little mistakes,” said Bagunas, as the team committed 19 errors compared to Tunisia’s nine in the one-hour, 22-minute encounter.
Despite the loss, Bagunas remained optimistic, saying the team is moving in the right direction and gaining confidence with each set.
“For me, ‘yun nga, ‘di good start pero for the third set, nakita ko naman ‘yung potential ng men’s volleyball,” said the decorated spiker from Batangas.
“Sobrang natuwa ako na maganda ‘yung performance nung third set pero hindi naging maganda outcome. But siyempre, for sure babawi kami sa next game.”
#WATCH: Bryan Bagunas says that during the third set against Tunisia, he truly saw the potential of men’s volleyball in the Philippines 🏐🇵🇭
📹 @justinvalencia_ /Tiebreaker Times#MWCH2025 #Sambansa pic.twitter.com/neYtuSVJNs
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) September 12, 2025
