HAIKOU, China — Alas Pilipinas Boys came within a set of making history in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) U18 Boys’ Volleyball Championship before suffering a heartbreaking reverse-sweep defeat to India, 25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 4-15, on Tuesday at the Wuyuan River Gymnasium.
After placing 11th in the 2024 edition in Bahrain, the Filipinos were hoping to secure a Top 4 finish this year. Instead, the loss dropped them to the classification round, with only the top two teams from each of the four pools advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Philippines finished third in Pool B with a 1-2 win-loss record after defeating Bahrain (0-3). Iran topped the group with a perfect 3-0 slate, while India claimed the other quarterfinal berth at 2-1.
Alas Pilipinas looked in complete control early, racing to a two-set lead behind the strong play of Terrence Marticion and Terrence Gamotea.
India, however, found its rhythm in the next two sets, capitalizing on the Philippines’ increasingly predictable offense to level the match at two sets apiece.
The Indians carried that momentum into the deciding fifth set, dominating from start to finish en route to a commanding 15-4 victory.
Despite the painful defeat, team captain Howard Guerra said the experience would only motivate the squad moving forward.
“It’s just one set, and of course it was painful because we were almost there. But we need to do better, and this serves as a lesson to us,” Guerra said.
“We will do better in the classification round, and hopefully we can top our previous finish. We really want to give our best because we are not fighting for ourselves; we are fighting for the flag,” he added.
Marticion paced Alas Pilipinas with 16 points built on 14 attacks and two aces, while Galapin and Dais contributed 14 points apiece.
India leaned on Sourabh Kashma, who erupted for 31 points, while Deepak added 16 markers in the comeback victory.
