Alas Pilipinas Men headed to Thailand for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, believing this would be the campaign that would finally put them in the fight for gold.
And who could blame them?
They were only a few months removed from the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship — a tournament they qualified for solely as hosts, yet one they turned into a breakthrough run that saw them finish 19th out of 32 world-class teams.
The same core that suited up in Bangkok was the very group that stunned African champions Egypt and pushed Asian powerhouse Iran to the limit, falling just one point short of a place in the Round of 16.
Alas wrapped up the tournament one place below Olympic champion France, four spots ahead of powerhouse Japan, and finished the world tilt as the second-best Asian team.
In short, they had every reason to believe they could contend for gold in this biennial meet.
That belief — that they could finally break into the final after consecutive fifth-place finishes — was far from wishful thinking. It was grounded in recent results that proved the Philippines could stand toe-to-toe with the world’s best.
However, that confidence met a harsh dose of reality once the SEA Games began.
What was supposed to be a gold-medal push took a wrong turn, as the Philippines struggled to translate its global breakthrough into consistent results on the regional stage. Instead of battling for the championship, they found themselves fighting to avoid going home empty-handed.
(C) POC Media
“Actually, sobrang laki ng naitulong sa’min nung ano kaso hindi lang namin na ituloy-tuloy talaga,” said team captain Bryan Bagunas, referring to the momentum they gained during the world tilt.
“Talagang ‘yun nga, nag-overconfidence din siguro kami kaya ‘yung mga last few games namin, hindi ganun ka-okay. But yun, dito sa tingin ko lumabas naman ‘yung natutunan namin,” he added.
Their gold-medal dreams were officially halted in the semifinals, where Thailand proved too strong, forcing Alas to regroup and face Vietnam in the bronze medal match.
The same inconsistencies from the service line and lapses in floor and net defense that plagued them throughout the tournament continued to haunt the Philippines against Vietnam, who eked out narrow wins in the first two sets and pushed Alas to the brink of missing the podium entirely.
But the team simply refused to let the setback define their campaign.
“Nung una medyo nagkulang kami, but ‘yun sinabi namin sa isa’t isa na hindi pa tapos ‘yung laban. Talagang nilaban namin hanggang sa dulo and ayun, sobrang saya namin na nakuha namin ‘yung bronze medal,” Bagunas said after Alas completed a dramatic 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 16-14 comeback win.
“Siguro ano kami, naka-side out nang maayos then na-less namin ‘yung errors namin sa service. ‘Yung defense namin nako-convert to point namin saka ‘yung block defense namin sobrang effective,” he added.
Though it wasn’t the gold they had envisioned, securing the bronze was far from a disappointment.
For Alas Pilipinas, leaving the tournament with a medal in hand was far better than going home empty-handed.
Sure, it wasn’t the ending they had imagined — but it was the finish they would rather have.
#WATCH: THAT IS NOT THE ALAS I KNOW
Hear PSC Chairman Pato Gregorio’s full post-game rallying speech after Alas Men’s semifinals loss to Thailand in #SEAGames2025 🇵🇭🏐#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/M9ig8JT6u2
📹 @psc_gov #Sambansa pic.twitter.com/CnGzZFz3WV
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) December 20, 2025
