Alas picks up semis lessons from loss to Indonesia
The Alas Pilipinas men’s volleyball team couldn’t crack three-time defending champion Indonesia, settling for second place in Group B heading into the semifinals of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
The Filipinos fell short of an upset, absorbing a 25-17, 27-25, 26-24 loss on Tuesday at Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok.
Indonesia leaned on star opposite Rivan Nurmulki, while Alas struggled to capitalize on key moments—something coach Angiolino Frigoni said must change before the knockout round.
“We have to work on our service and avoid stupid mistakes,” Frigoni said, stressing that the team’s focus has already shifted to the semifinals.
“That’s it—to win the semifinal,” he added. “We did all we could at this moment. The problem is the serve. We’re talking to the players and helping them regain their confidence. It’s mostly confidence. After that, we’ll see what happens.”
Awaiting a foe
Alas will look to summon the same magic it produced six years ago, when it stunned Thailand in the 2019 semifinals to secure a historic silver medal at PhilSports Arena.
This time, the Filipinos bounced back from two straight fifth-place finishes to return to the Final Four, where they will face the winner of the Thailand-Vietnam matchup on Thursday.
“We have to play the semifinal. It doesn’t matter if it’s Vietnam or Thailand,” Frigoni said. “This is the most important thing.”
Setter Owa Retamar, a rookie during that 2019 breakthrough run, remained upbeat despite Alas finishing the preliminaries with a 1-1 record.
The veteran acknowledged the heightened expectations following the team’s encouraging showing at the FIVB Men’s World Championship but said the group is ready for the challenge.
“The pressure is different. The feeling when you step on the court is different,” Retamar said. “But we’ll be ready.”
Retamar added that the loss to Indonesia offered valuable lessons, particularly as Alas showed it could match the champions’ level late in the match behind Bryan Bagunas and Marck Espejo, with timely contributions from Leo Ordiales and Peng Taguibolos.
“Our attack efficiency was almost the same as theirs, and in transition we were even a bit better,” Retamar said. “The biggest issue was really our serve. We had too many service errors.”
