MANILA, Philippines – Thailand reasserted its claim as the king of Southeast Asian volleyball after dropping Alas Pilipinas to a 10th-place finish in the 2024 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, in Isa Sport City, Bahrain on Friday, June 7.
Marck Espejo led the Philippines’ tournament-ending loss with 18 points, followed by 14 from star prospect Jade Disquitado, and 9 points with 2 blocks from Lloyd Josafat.
Their efforts, however, paled in comparison to Thai captain Khonhan Amornthep, who showed the Filipino side how it’s done with a staggering 20 of his game-high 30 points coming in the latter two sets alone.
With its third and final loss, Alas bowed out with one win and three defeats total, its lone victory coming against young Indonesia last Wednesday, June 5.
The Philippines fell ever so shortly from achieving better fortunes in Isa after suffering consecutive close sweeps against world No. 32 China and host Bahrain to immediately drop out of title contention.
Head coach Sergio Veloso, nonetheless, will have plenty of helpful data and game film for Alas’ future tournaments as the likes of Disquitado, winger Nico Almendras, setter Owa Retamar, and converted libero Josh Ybañez showed flashes of brilliance alongside proven star Espejo.
As the Philippines packs it up, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and South Korea will contest the Challenge Cup gold in the semifinals on Saturday, June 8 and the knockout final on Sunday, June 9 (Monday, June 10, 12 am, Manila time). – Rappler.com