Alas Men succumb to Chinese Taipei, crash out of quarters contention
At A Glance
- Alas Pilipinas couldn't cash in on its chances in the third set and succumbed to a higher ranked Chinese Taipei, 25-19, 23-25, 30-28, 25-20, and crashed out of quarterfinal contention in the AVC Men's Volleyball Nation Cup in Manama, Bahrain on Wednesday, June 18.
Alas Pilipinas finishes winless in the group stage of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nation Cup. (File Photo/ Volleyball Philippines)
Alas Pilipinas couldn’t cash in on its chances in the third set and succumbed to a higher ranked Chinese Taipei, 25-19, 23-25, 30-28, 25-20, and crashed out of quarterfinal contention in the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nation Cup in Manama, Bahrain on Wednesday, June 18.
The Filipino spikes had all the chances of stealing the extended third set after dropping the first set and stealing the second but just weren’t able to keep their momentum as the Taiwanese took charge instead.
The Nationals gave it their all in the fourth frame but Chinese Taipei, ranked 45th in the world as against the Filipinos’ 65th, just had all the answers to preserve the win.
The loss shut the door for Alas, which finished winless in two outings in Pool C with its other defeat coming at the hands of Pakistan the day before.
Chinese Taipei and Pakistan, for their parts, advanced to the quarters regardless of the result of their showdown on Thursday, June 19.
The Filipinos, who are preparing for the FIVB Worlds that the country is hosting this September as well as the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December, were relegated to the battle for ninth to 11th places unfurling Friday, June 20.
Alas captain Marck Espejo suited on this one after getting injured the day before.
He had another close brush with injury when he landed badly late in the fourth and last set, but he shrugged it off and still finished the game.