CANDON, Ilocos Sur — Alas Pilipinas salvaged a fifth-place finish in the first leg of the 2026 SEA Men’s V Cup after sweeping Myanmar, 25-21, 28-26, 25-22, on Saturday at the Candon City Arena here.

After suffering losses to Cambodia and Indonesia in pool play, the Philippines finally broke through with its first and only victory of the opening leg, overcoming a sluggish start behind a spirited comeback in the opening set.

The Nationals trailed, 11-17, after a flat start before the second unit of Van Book, Lloyd Josafat, Louie Ramirez, Al-Bukharie Sali, and Greg Ancheta sparked a decisive 14-4 run to steal the first set, 25-21.

The comeback shifted the momentum in the Philippines’ favor, allowing Alas Pilipinas to complete the straight-set victory and secure fifth place in the regional tournament hosted by Candon City Mayor Eric Singson with the support of the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“I am proud of the improvement of the players during the competition. Today was more difficult, but it was expected, because in this match the player had something to lose. In the other match, they didn’t have anything to lose. They were just playing more freely. And today we start in a very bad way. They were very tense, very afraid to make mistakes,” said Alas Pilipinas head coach Angiolino Frigoni.

“But after that, we got by, slowly by slowly, with the substitution, with the players that get better on the team, we won, that’s it.”

Ramirez came off the bench to lead the Philippines with 14 points built on 11-of-17 attacking, along with three blocks.

Joshua Magalaman, the team’s leading scorer during pool play, added 12 points on eight attacks, three blocks, and an ace, while Axel Van Book contributed nine points off the bench.

Jude Garcia, who was shifted to the opposite position by Frigoni after opening the tournament as an outside hitter, chipped in eight points as Alas Pilipinas committed a tournament-low 19 errors.

The tournament resumes with its second leg from July 22 to 26 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Kyaw Aung Myo paced Myanmar with 16 points, while Aung Ye Lin added 12.

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Alas Pilipinas Boys came within a set of reaching the quarterfinals of the AVC Boys’ U18 Volleyball Championship but suffered a heartbreaking reverse-sweep loss to India, 25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 4-15, on Tuesday at the Wuyuan River Gymnasium in Haikou, China.

The defeat dropped the Philippines to third place in Pool B with a 1-2 record, its lone victory coming against winless Bahrain (0-3).

The Filipinos appeared headed for a historic breakthrough after dominating the first two sets behind the efforts of Terrence Marticion, Allan-Rey Dais, Terrence Gamotea, and John Daniel Dela Cruz.

India, however, regrouped in the third and fourth sets, making adjustments against the offense orchestrated by Alas captain Howard Guerra to force a deciding fifth set.

In an attempt to catch India off guard, the Philippines moved Jeffe Gallego to setter while shifting Guerra to the open hitter position for the final frame. The gamble, however, failed to pay off as India seized control behind team captain Sourabh Kashma, Adarsh Singh, and Deepak Deepak, racing to an 8-2 advantage.

Gamotea briefly stopped the run with a block on Kashma, but India responded with four straight points to extend its lead to 12-3.

Guerra ended the drought with a crosscourt attack, but a costly Philippine net error put India at match point before Kashma sealed the victory with back-to-back service aces.

“We were so close; we were already there, but we fell short. We did not hold on until the end. There are situations where we could take the set and win, but maybe this match is not for us,” said head coach Oliver Balse.

“I am still happy with how they performed because I can really see the skills, but maturity is something we really need to work on,” he added.

Marticion led Alas Pilipinas with 16 points built on 14 attacks and two aces, while Dais and Galapin added 14 points each. Gamotea and Dela Cruz chipped in nine markers apiece.

“We are thankful because we gave our best. No one was injured, and we will do our best in the classification round,” said Marticion.

“We will keep our heads up high. This is a hard lesson for us, but it also inspires us to become better players when we return to our leagues in the Philippines,” he added.

Kashma erupted for 31 points to power India, while Deepak contributed 16.

Despite missing out on the knockout stage, Alas Pilipinas will continue its campaign in the classification round, with its next opponent to be determined after the conclusion of Tuesday’s remaining pool matches.

The Philippines opened its campaign with a 17-25, 20-25, 13-25 loss to Iran before bouncing back with a 25-22, 13-25, 25-23, 25-14 victory over Bahrain on Monday.

Iran finished atop Pool B with a perfect 3-0 record, while India improved to 2-1 as both teams advanced to the quarterfinals. Bahrain ended the pool phase winless at 0-3.

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CANDON, Ilocos Sur — Alas Pilipinas aims to return to the podium as the first leg of the 2026 Southeast Asian Volleyball Cup men’s tournament gets underway on Wednesday at the Candon City Arena.

Leading the national team are 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship veterans Louie Ramirez, Lloyd Josafat, Vince Lorenzo, and Josh Ybañez.

Also making his highly anticipated indoor national team debut is five-time Spikers’ Turf Most Valuable Player Jude Garcia, who previously helped the Philippine beach volleyball team capture the bronze medal at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games.

The Philippines finished fourth in both legs of the 2025 edition of the tournament, then known as the SEA V.League.

Alas Pilipinas opens its Group B campaign on Wednesday against Cambodia at 5:30 PM, in a tournament that offers valuable FIVB World Ranking points.

Thailand, the reigning first-leg champion from 2025, will kick off the competition against Vietnam in the Group A opener at 2:00 PM.

This year’s field has expanded to six teams with the addition of Myanmar, making the regional tournament hosted by Candon City Mayor Eric Singson and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee even more competitive.

Myanmar joins Thailand and Vietnam in Group A, while Indonesia completes Group B alongside the Philippines and Cambodia.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, with the medal matches set for Sunday.

Asian Volleyball Confederation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara expressed his gratitude to the City of Candon, led by Singson, for its continued support of volleyball after successfully hosting several international tournaments across different age groups.

“My heartfelt gratitude to Mayor Eric Singson and the Local Organizing Committee for their outstanding efforts in staging this event. Following the successful hosting of the AVC Women’s Cup, Candon City has once again demonstrated its capability and passion for delivering world-class international volleyball competitions,” said Suzara.

Meanwhile, Singson emphasized the impact of hosting international sporting events on the city’s development.

“Hosting this prestigious championship for the second consecutive year is another significant milestone for Candon City and reflects the confidence entrusted to us in staging international sporting events,” said Singson.

“It also provides Candon City the opportunity to represent the Philippines by sharing the warmth of Filipino hospitality while advancing sports tourism as a catalyst for economic growth, cultural exchange, and community development.”

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