Thailand rules SEA V.League; Alas Pilipinas takes bronze

Alas Pilipinas settled for a bronze medal after powerhouse Thailand hacked out a 28-26, 25-15, 25-16 win over the host squad to reign supreme in the 2024 Men’s SEA V. League first leg Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

The fancied Thais exploited Alas missing the services of injured top scorer Bryan Bagunas to complete a three-game sweep of the four-nation regional tilt.   

Thailand bagged its first crown following its silver and bronze medal haul in the inaugural edition last year.

For Alas, even the defeat would not dampen its historic feat as it clinched the bronze medal with a 1-2 record, courtesy of a huge win in the opener against cellar dweller Vietnam (0-3).

Indonesia (2-1), the two-leg champion, last year settled for silver this time around heading to the second leg in its own turf.

Alas, without injured ace Bryan Bagunas after a bad fall last match against Indonesia, stood its ground at least in the extended first set before falling prey to the full-strength Thailand in the next two.

Napadet Bhinijdee and Kissada Nilsawai led the way with 14 points each while Anurak Phanram had 13 in the scattered attack for Thailand, which also swept Indonesia and Vietnam for a spotless campaign without a single set yielded.

Noel Kampton fired 10 while Leo Ordiales and Buds Buddin added seven each for Alas, a medalist right away in the debut tournament of Italian head coach Angiolino Frigoni.

Alas’ bronze-medal milestone in the SEA V. League served as a fitting followup to the back-to-back bronze-medal finish of Alas women in the SEA V. League last week in Vietnam and Thailand.

But more than that, it kickstarted with a bang a year-long build-up for the Filipino spikers ahead of the country’s solo hosting of the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship next year.