Host Bahrain sent the Philippines crashing to a 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 defeat Tuesday morning in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup for Men at the Isa Sports City Hall C in the capital of Manam.

Following the loss, the Philippines will try to sign off in a graceful manner when it faces the losing team in the Pool C matchup involving Indonesia and Qatar for a chance to finish ninth.

The game takes place midnight of Thursday (Manila time).

After a back-to-back straight-set loss in Pool A, the Philippine squad’s classification match won’t be a cakewalk either as there is a chance that they will face higher-ranked Indonesia (world No. 52), which recently won its third consecutive Southeast Asian Games title.

But if Indonesia pulls off an upset in their Wednesday match, Philippines will then clash with Qatar (world No. 21), which carved out a runner-up finish in last year’s FIVB Men’s Challenger Cup in Doha.

Alas Pilipinas co-captains Jau Umandal and Marck Espejo, as well as Kim Malabunga put up a fight by trailing closely behind Bahrain throughout the three sets.

The 26-year-old Umandal led the squad in scoring with nine points from seven attacks and two blocks, while veteran spiker Espejo and national team mainstay Malabunga came up with eight points apiece.

Still, the host country’s offense and defense were too much to handle.

Abdulla Mohamed Yaqoob’s masterful 15 points from 12 attacks and three aces, along with Ali Khamis and Abdulla Mohamed’s 11 points apiece were more than enough to propel Bahrain to a quarterfinal seat.

The game takes place midnight of Thursday (Manila time).

Alas Pilipinas was able to stay within striking distance in the early moments of the third frame, but Bahrain overwhelmed the Filipino squad by firing from all cylinders.

Khamis, who produced six points, and Mohamed, Yaqoob, and Naser Anan who dished out four points each in the third set alone, led Bahrain in establishing a 22-17 lead.

Malabunga attempted to spark a run for Alas Pilipinas by hammering down two consecutive attacks to narrow the gap to 22-19.

However, Ali Sayed Hashem, Yaqoob and Hasan Haider prevented the Philippines from gaining momentum by whipping out their own attacks to secure the win.