HAIKOU, China — The Alas Pilipinas boys national volleyball team outplayed Hong Kong China, 25-18, 28-26, 25-13, in the 9th-12th classification round of the 2026 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Boys’ U18 Volleyball Championship on Friday night in Wuyuan River Gymnasium.
The Philippine team, which placed 11th in the 2024 edition in Bahrain, will have a chance to score its best finish in the tournament when it battles Indonesia for 9th place on Saturday.
After cruising to a 25-18 victory in the first set, the Philippines overcame a resilient Hong Kong China side in the second set, prevailing 28-26 after three deuces.
Elijah Guzman delivered the decisive blow, slamming back-to-back kills to secure the set and give his team a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Philippines then cruised to a dominant 25-13 win in the third set, with Al-Raquib Dais and Terrence Marticion raining down kills from all angles.
Dais, who posted a game-high 25 points against Australia earlier in the tournament, led the Philippines anew with 15 points (12 attacks, 3 blocks).
Marticion chipped in with 14 points, while Guzman added six, including the two crucial kills that closed out the second set.
“I know we’re out of podium contention, but we still want to get the best out of this tournament,” Guzman said. “We’re playing harder because our goal is to finish higher than our 11th-place result in Bahrain. Against Indonesia, we will give everything to finish strong and end up ninth.”
Lik Chun Lau was Hong Kong’s top scorer with 16 points.
