Alas Pilipinas had a sluggish start but found unlikely heroes in their 19-25, 22-25, 22-25 setback to China in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup Monday morning at the Isa Sports City Hall C in Bahrain.

Opposite spiker Leo Ordiales, setter Owa Retamar and libero Josh Ybañez displayed impressive performances for the Filipinos, who are looking to duplicate the bronze-medal performance of their women counterparts last week at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

The 21-year-old Ordiales gave the taller, more experienced Chinese blockers a tough time as he fired 10 points to provide support to national team veterans Jau Umandal and Marck Espejo, who delivered 10 and eight points, respectively.

Retamar, a two-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion for National University, was also at his best in setting the plays while UAAP Season 86 Most Valuable Player Ybanez did a marvelous job manning the backline defense in his new role as primary defender.

“It’s a good match, okay? I’m so happy with the team because we played with China,” Alas Pilipinas head coach Sergio Veloso said in a video interview posted by Bahrain Volleyball.

“We have three young players on the court and the guys played very well. The score is not the same when you look at 3-0, but the fight is good.”

Alas Pilipinas caught up with the Chinese in the third set to reduce the gap, 17-16, but skipper Jiang Chuan and Zhang Jingyin remained consistent at the attack zone to build up a 21-19 advantage.

China then capitalized on Alas Pilipinas’ errors to stretch the lead to 24-21.

Filipino outside hitter Jade Disquitado tried to force a fourth set by hammering down an attack, but Jiang denied him by whipping out a cross-court kill to secure the match point, 25-22.