Alas Men outlasts New Zealand to finish 10th in AVC Nations Cup

June 25 ------ ALAS Pilipinas Men salvaged a 10th place finish for the third straight year in the 2025 AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup. The nationals defeated New Zealand, 25-16, 23-25, 25-11, 25-22 in Manama, Bahrain to avoid finishing dead-last in the 11-team field. It also became their only win of the tournament after losing to both Pakistan and Chinese Taipei in pool play, followed by a straight-sets loss to Thailand in their first classification round game.

Fil-American opposite hitter Steven Rotter had his best game yet for the Philippines with 20 points built on 17 attacks, two aces and one block. The Philippines started strong with 10 points combined from Rotter and captain Marck Espejo, who had 14 attacks in the game.

After a second-set hiccup, Alas Men punished the Kiwis with a lead that ballooned to as many as 13 and regained control to finish the match in four sets. Louie Ramirez stepped up late for the nationals with 14 points on 11 attacks, two aces and one block. National U middle blocker Peng Taguibolos also added seven markers. Angiolino Frigoni's wards will have roughly two weeks to prepare for the next stop of their 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship buildup.

The Philippines will host the first leg of the expanded 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) V.League from July 9 to 13 in Candon City, Ilocos Sur. Leg 2 will be in Indonesia at a later date. For the first time in the competition's three-year history, five teams rather than just four will participate in the week-long event as Cambodia makes its tournament debut. Alas Men look to defend their back-to-back bronze-medal finishes in both legs last year.

Source: spin.ph