Alas Pilipinas, China collide

Alas Pilipinas braces itself for an intense matchup with China to kick off its campaign in the 2024 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Men’s Challenge Cup at Isa Town, Bahrain at midnight on 3 June (Manila time).

The Marck Espejo and Jau Umandal-led Filipino squad, currently 57th in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) world rankings, shoots for an upset against China (No. 31) to set the tone in its Pool A crusade of the tournament slated from 2 to 9 June.

Aside from Philippines and China, also included in Pool A of the round-robin preliminary round is the host country Bahrain. Pool B, meanwhile, includes defending champion Thailand, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

Pool C is composed of South Korea, Indonesia, and Qatar while Pool D features Vietnam, Australia, and Chinese Taipei. The knockout stages of the tournament will follow, building up to the finals on 9 June.

The tournament offers teams an opportunity to advance to the 2024 FIVB Challenge Cup, a pathway to the prestigious Volleyball Nations League.

Mentored by Brazilian coach Sergio Veloso, Espejo and Umandal will be playing alongside college standout Josh Ybanez, who will represent the flag outside his comfort zone of being an outside hitter, as he was assigned to be the team’s libero.

Other players include Noel Kampton, Lloyd Josafat, Kim Malabunga, and Vince Patrick Lorenzo, who are expected to bring their experience going up against other international teams in last year’s edition of the tournament.

The Alas Men hope to maintain the steady rise of Philippine volleyball on the world stage after the national team ended its drought in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games by securing its first victory since 1974.

But it won’t be a walk in the park against China, which dominated Japan in straight sets in 2022 to secure its first title in the AVC Challenge Cup in a decade.

In the same year, China also posted a silver medal finish in the Asian Games. The team also finished fourth in the 2023 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship after toppling Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan, and South Korea.

After China, Alas Pilipinas will then face lower-ranked Bahrain (No. 67), a squad also making steady progress on the international stage at midnight on 4 June.