Alas Pilipinas during a game against Thailand in the AVC Challenge Cup in Bahrain.–AVC PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas settled for 10th place anew in the AVC Challenge Cup men’s division after falling to Thailand, 20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, on Friday evening in Bahrain.
The Philippines placed 10th in the Challenge Cup for the second straight year as it couldn’t stop Thailand and its captain Khonhan Amornthep, who unleashed 30 points in their game that lasted one hour and 56 minutes.
Alas skipper Marck Espejo led the charge with 16 points on a 15-of-30 attacking clip, while Jade Disquitado shone as a starting opposite spiker with 14 points.
READ: Alas Pilipinas men beat Indonesia, advance to battle for 9th
Lloyd Josafat also stepped up with nine points including two blocks. Jau Umandal and Kim Malabunga had eight and seven points, respectively. Noel Kampton made the most of his limited playing time in the fourth set with six points.
Setter Owa Retamar remained grateful to their Filipino fans in Bahrain and thousands of livestream viewers back in the Philippines for supporting them despite the 10th-place finish.
“I would like to thank all of the Filipinos, who supported us. We fell short because we had a short preparation,” said Retamar. “We will come back stronger. We’re very happy because of the support and the level of play here in Bahrain. [The teams are] good and they’re strong. That’s why they are on top.
“We need to build our communication, our pattern in blocking, and our attack,” he added.
READ: Alas Pilipinas men eliminated in AVC Challenge Cup
The Filipino Spikers equalized the game to one set apiece with Espejo ending the close second set with a cross-court kill. But Amornthep was too much in the last two sets, where he scored 20. Jenthaisong Supakorn backstopped their captain with 15 points.
The Philippines gave up 31 errors in the match as Thailand, which only had 22 miscues, took advantage of the former’s error-filled game
The Thais finished 9th after failing to defend their Challenge Cup title last year with a new champion will be crowned between semifinalists Qatar, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and South Korea.
The Sergio Veloso-coached squad had a winless Pool A after losing to World No.32 China and host Bahrain.
Alas drew from its bench players Disquitado and Nico Almendras to advance to the battle for ninth after beating the young Indonesia team in the classification round.