Chasing glory

One more shot at history. Another crack at glory.

A modest goal to gain experience on the world stage has turned into a dream run for Alas Pilipinas.

Fueled by a historic win a couple of nights ago, the Filipino spikers aim higher as they shift their sights on clinching a Round of 16 seat in a battle for survival against Asian giant Iran on Thursday at the close of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship pool stage.

A much bigger partisan crowd is expected to fill the Mall of Asia Arena to witness another possible miracle unfold starting at 5:30 p.m.

Ranked No. 77 in the world, Alas pulled off the biggest upset in the prestigious 32-nation tournament so far by bringing down African powerhouse Egypt, 29-27, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, on a Tuesday night to remember.

The victory over the 22nd ranked Egyptians not only gave the Philippines its first taste of triumph in the World Championship following a straight sets debut loss to Tunisia last Friday but also put the team in contention for a passage in the knockout phase.

Alas is tied with Iran, Egypt and Tunisia with identical 1-1 win-loss slates in Pool A, making their last pool playdate into a virtual do-or-die.

The Egyptians and Tunisians cross paths at 1:30 p.m.

Alas head coach Angiolino Frigoni reminds his players to control their emotions and remain laser-focused on the task at hand. Alas cannot be satisfied with just one win when the opportunity to advance is right there for the picking.

“We just won (against Egypt), I don’t know where we’ll be in two days,” Frigoni said after the win.

“We are very happy that we won, but we know what we have to improve. We know exactly what we have to improve.”

The Italian mentor knows the No. 15-ranked many-time Asian champion squad has the same burning desire as Alas to move on to the next stage.

“I can’t promise that we’ll play like this, but I promise that we’ll do everything to play like (last Tuesday),” he said.

Expectations just got higher for the heroes of the last game in ace spiker Bryan Bagunas, young revelation Leo Ordiales and old reliable Marck Espejo.

“The win was a big boost to our confidence,” said Espejo, who had 13 points against Egypt.

“We’ll play the same way we did and just enjoy the game. Nothing to lose. Although there’s more pressure now that we’ve won one game, so we now have a chance to advance into the Round of 16.”

Bagunas, who averages 24 points per game in the Worlds, would like to approach the game without pressure.

“For us, there’s nothing to lose. We’ll go out there and enjoy the game. Whatever we learned in our previous games we’ll try to apply it,” Bagunas, who hammered 23 kills and two kill blocks against the Egyptians, said.

“We’ll take it slow. One point at a time. Coach would always tell us before the start of the game: Every point is a victory.”

Iran is also coming off a rebound win over Tunisia, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16, after suffering an opening day four-set setback against Egypt.

Alas will be keeping a close eye on Iran’s main gunners Hossein Poriya, captain Sharifi Morteza, Ali Hajipour and Valizadeh Mohammad.

Meanwhile, unbeaten Brazil (2-0) battles Serbia (1-1) at 10 a.m. while the Czech Republic (1-1) and China (0-2) face off in the 9 p.m. nightcap in Pool H.

The top two teams in Pool H will battle the top two of Pool A in the next round.