via Dason Stephan Sailadin, Pressroom PH
Despite a 22-point explosion from NU star Leo Ordiales, the Alas Pilipinas Men’s team still succumbed to world No. 46 Pakistan, 18-25, 12-25, 25-18, 22-25, during their opening match in Pool C of the 2025 AVC Nations Cup, at the Isa Bin Rashid Hall in Bahrain, on Tuesday, June 17.
Ordiales kickstarted Alas’ comeback attempt and covered the holes left behind by team captain Marck Espejo—who suffered a left ankle injury late in the first set—by pumping in a game-high in points, but all his efforts went down the drain as the Filipinos faltered against the overwhelming Pakistani offense.
The 22-year-old opposite hitter came alive late and went on fire down the stretch, marking eight of his 22 points in the third set alone, ultimately finishing with 15 attacks, five blocks, and two aces.
After losing the first two frames and taking the third due to Ordiales, fellow NU Bulldogs Buds Buddin and Peng Taguibolos then followed in Ordiales’ footsteps after they set the tone early in the fourth through power spikes, eager to extend the game into a five-set thriller.
But after the early 5-0 blitz, Pakistan quickly extinguished the fire of the Filipinos, as they constantly scored from the service line to take an 8-7 lead.
Sustaining their drive, Pakistan, led by Mured Jehan, continued to exchange points with the Philippines until they took a 20-16 gap late in the fourth thanks to their all-around play.
Alas Men saw a glimmer of hope in the final moments, after cutting down the lead to just a single point at 21-22.
However, that was the closest the team got, as Pakistan rallied behind a series of towering blocks from Musawer Khan that whittled the offense of Alas, eventually sealing the match in just four sets.
Buddin and Steven Rotter trailed closely behind Ordiales, marking 10 points each, while Taguibolos and Lloyd Josafat chipped in 5 apiece in the Philippines' valiant stand.
For Pakistan, Mured, Musawer, and Afaq Khan all had 14 points each to lead their team to the win. Following a successful Invitationals sweep, the Nationals now dropped to a 0-1 win-loss card in the Nations Cup’s Pool C, which means that they must win the next game to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Alas will need to win against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday in order to move on to the next round of the tournament.
