‘Don’t count us out’

Being tagged as an underdog is an understatement for an Alas Pilipinas side that is just getting its feet wet on the world stage.

Pitted against taller, powerful and more experienced teams in the country’s hosting of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships is a bit overwhelming for the Filipinos.

But veteran stars Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas and the rest of Alas are unfazed to go up against the best in the world in a historic first for the national squad.

“It’s an honor to be part of this big event. We’re excited to play and showcase the level of Philippine volleyball to the world,” Espejo said.

Alas begins its campaign in the prestigious 32-nation tournament against world No. 43 and 11-time African champion Tunisia in Pool A on opening day Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The world No. 82-ranked Filipinos will also battle nine-time African titlist and 2024 Paris Olympics participant Egypt and world No. 13 Asian powerhouse Iran.

Alas, which has yet to release its final lineup, takes on the Egyptians on 16 September before crossing paths with Iran on the 18th to close the pool play.

“We’ll do our best. Hopefully, we’ll be competitive, take it one set at a time and win games,” Espejo added.

Alas, under Italian coach Angiolino Frigoni, went through a meticulous buildup to ensure the team would be competitive and confident facing strong opposition.

Stints in international tournaments, friendlies and overseas training camps in Asia, America and Europe kept Alas busy for almost a year.

“We just want to perform at our best. We want to showcase what we’ve learned from our coaches,” said Bagunas, a grizzled internationalist with stints in Japan and Taiwan as import.

“We want to show that Philippine men’s volleyball has a chance competing on the world stage. And this could be the start for the world to know Philippine men’s volleyball.”

Bagunas sees Iran, which finished 13th in the previous edition three years ago and parading a lineup with an average height of 6-foot-5, as the team to beat in the group.

“Of course, everyone in the group is strong. We all know how high their level of play is but I think Iran is the strongest,” he said.

“Iran is playing on a high level. It will be challenging and very difficult for us to beat any of the teams in our group but we’ll try to perform well.”

The three-time Asian Games winner Iran, however, is playing sans Asia’s top opposite spiker Amin Esmaeilnezhad after injuring his ankle during training.

Also competing are Poland, Netherlands, Qatar and Romania in Pool B; France, Argentina, Finland and South Korea in Pool C; US, Cuba, Portugal and Colombia in Pool D; and Slovenia, Germany, Bulgaria and Chile in Pool E.

Defending champion Italy is in Pool F together with Ukraine, Belgium and Argentina; Pool G has Japan, Canada, Turkey and Libya while Pool H has Brazil, Serbia, Czech Republic and China.

The pool play is a single-round robin format with the top two teams advancing into the Round of 16 knockout stage.

The quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds are also do-or-die affairs.