Alas bronze glitters like gold

BANGKOK, Thailand — It was a bronze worth the weight of gold.

Alas Pilipinas sprung back to life after yielding the first two sets and essayed a dramatic, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 16-14, come-from-behind win to end a six-year podium drought in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men’s indoor volleyball competition Friday at the Indoor Stadium Huamark here.

Marck Espejo erupted for 30 points while Leo Ordiales and Bryan Bagunas submitted 20 and 19 markers, respectively, as Alas snapped a back-to-back fifth-place finish in the biennial meet following a silver medal in the 2019 Manila edition.

“We came up short at the start but we kept on telling each other that the match is not yet over. We fought until the end,” said Bagunas, who scored six of his production in the deciding frame.

“Super happy we got the bronze medal,” he added.

Espejo punched in 25 kills, three kill blocks and two aces for the Philippines, who made a quick turnaround after a stinging straight sets semifinal loss to Thailand on Thursday.

While grizzled veterans Espejo and Bagunas delivered in the nerve-wracking fifth set to stave off the hard-fighting Vietnamese, it was Lloyd Josafat who took the honor of ending the Philippines’ medal drought in the biennial meet with the game-winning ace.

With momentum on its side after taking the third and fourth sets to drag the match into a fifth and deciding frame, Alas raced to a 9-5 lead.

Vietnam closed in, 11-12, before Espejo scored an off-speed hit followed by a Bagunas hit as Alas reached match point, 14-11.

The Vietnamese refused to go down without a fight and rallied to force a deuce, 14-14.

Bagunas stopped the bleeding with a powerful kill to give Alas a second match point advantage.

Josafat then smacked a flat ball serve that Ngoc Nguyen Thuan and Tran Ann Tu failed to control as the Filipino crowd roared in euphoria for a bronze medal that glittered like gold.