Alas Men succumb to Chinese Taipei, drop playoff bid in AVC Nations Cup 

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

The Philippine men’s volleyball team falls to the classification phase after losing numerous chances to grab the match against Chinese Taipei

MANILA, Philippines – Alas Pilipinas Men suffered their second straight loss in the AVC Nations Cup after falling to Chinese Taipei, 25-19, 23-25, 30-28, 25-20, to miss out on a playoff ticket on Wednesday, June 18, in Manama, Bahrain. 

The loss put Alas Men at 0-2 in Pool C, relegating them to the classification phase — a quick slide from their 3-0 sweep of the Invitational tournament last week in Manila.

In the next round, the Filipinos will face the also-ran teams in other pools to determine their final ranking.

Marck Espejo led the Nationals with 26 points despite another knee injury scare during the fourth set. 

In the team’s tournament opener last Tuesday where Alas lost to Pakistan, Espejo also picked up an ankle injury but was later cleared to play. 

Alas had numerous chances to take a crucial 2-1 set lead in the third set, only to let up late.

Chinese Taipei overcame the Philippines’ set point thrice, scoring two straight kills before Espejo committed an attack error. The pivotal stretch wiped out the Filipinos’ advantage as the Taiwanese stole the extended set.

The Taiwanese then jumped to a 12-7 start in the fourth and never looked back as Alas struggled to find offense outside Espejo and Leo Ordiales to ultimately miss out on a playoff trip. 

Ordiales scored 13 points for Alas. 

Chang Yu-Sheng paced Chinese Taipei with 24 points off 21 attacks and 3 blocks, while Wen Yi-Kai added 14 for their country’s first victory in the tournament. 

Alas will next see action on Friday, June 20, for the classification games. – Rappler.com