Alas Pilipinas Men’s bid for a historic title run in the 2025 AVC Men’s Nations Cup came to a heartbreaking halt after a 19-25, 25-23, 28-30, 20-25 loss to world no. 45 Chinese Taipei on Wednesday night at the Isa Bin Rashed Hall in Manama, Bahrain.
Despite entering the continental tilt on a high note—fresh off a clean sweep of the Alas Pilipinas Invitationals at the SMART Araneta Coliseum where they toppled two Asian league champions and Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand—the Filipinos could not sustain their winning momentum in Pool C.
The defeat marked the Nationals’ second straight loss in group play, officially eliminating them from quarterfinal contention and relegating them to the classification round for 9th to 11th place. Alas Pilipinas Men now turn their focus to a match against either Thailand or Indonesia from Pool A on Friday, June 20, before wrapping up their campaign against the third-seed team from Pool D, which features South Korea, New Zealand, and Vietnam, on Sunday, June 24.
Chinese Taipei, meanwhile, clinched a crucial victory to advance to the quarterfinals. They will face fellow pool leader Pakistan on Thursday to determine the top seed.
The third set proved to be the turning point in the tightly contested battle. Alas Pilipinas had multiple opportunities to take the frame and seize control of the match, even reaching set point thrice. The last came off a crafty backrow drop by team captain Marck Espejo that gave the Philippines a 28-27 edge.
But a series of crucial errors allowed Chinese Taipei to steal the momentum. Chang Yusheng tied the set with a thunderous attack from the backrow, followed by a costly over-received pass from Josh Ybanez that led to a Chang Yuchen quick kill. A hitting error by Espejo handed the Taiwanese a 2-1 set lead.
The collapse in the third set seemed to sap the energy from the Nationals, who faltered early in the fourth. Chinese Taipei opened with a 12-7 burst, capitalizing on the Philippines’ sluggish defense. Though Espejo and Leo Ordiales sparked life into the squad with back-to-back kills to trim the gap to 15-13, the Taiwanese side responded with a crushing 6-2 rally that extended their lead to 21-15.
A late push by the Filipinos—highlighted by a service error from Yuan Li and a block by Espejo—saved two match points, but it wasn’t enough. Liu Yu Lin fired a final blow through the middle to seal the match and secure Chinese Taipei’s ticket to the next round.
Espejo, who had previously been nursing an injury sustained against Pakistan, showed no signs of slowing down. He delivered an all-around performance with 26 points, built on 22 attacks and four blocks, while also contributing six excellent digs.
Leo Ordiales added 15 points, seven of which came in a scorching stretch during the third set, while Peng Taguibolos chipped in nine markers. Louie Ramirez, a key piece from the NCAA champion San Beda side, registered eight points, and UE’s Lloyd Josafat contributed seven, including four blocks.
On the other side, Chang Yusheng spearheaded Chinese Taipei with 24 points, 21 of which came from kills. Wen Yi-Kai followed with 14 markers, and skipper Chang Yuchen added 12.
