Marck Espejo powered Alas Pilipinas to an electrifying five-set victory over Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-12, to complete a clean sweep of the Alas Pilipinas Invitationals on Thursday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With the home crowd roaring in Cubao, Espejo unleashed a 30-point explosion to lead the Nationals past the eight-time SEA Games gold medalists and hand the Thais their first defeat of the tournament. The win gave the Philippines a flawless 3-0 record in the three-day pocket tournament, which served as a tune-up event for the country’s hosting of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship.
“Masaya kasi yung huling panalo namin against Thailand was 2019 pa,” said Espejo, who registered 23 attacks, six aces, and one block. “Pero hindi naman ito yung papagbasehan talaga kasi Invitationals lang ito. Ito lang yung parang gauge namin kung nasaan na yung team. Pero syempre beating Thailand, parang nakakaboost ng confidence.”
Facing a 1-3 deficit in the deciding fifth set, Espejo found a timely spark in National University standout Leo Ordiales, who strung together three key points during a pivotal 6-1 run that gave Alas Pilipinas a 7-4 edge.
Thailand rallied back and took a narrow 10-9 lead, but Espejo rose to the occasion with a crosscourt kill followed by a blistering ace to swing the momentum back, 12-10. Buds Buddin then stepped up with consecutive hits — a cheeky off-the-block shot and a dagger crosscourt spike — to push the Nationals to match point at 14-11. Moments later, Espejo hammered home a signature backrow kill to seal the win and the tournament sweep.
The match served not only as redemption but also a confidence-boosting statement for the Filipinos, who last defeated Thailand in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games semifinals.
Head coach Angiolino Frigoni emphasized that the tournament was more than just about wins and losses.
“If you heard my interview before, I said that for us, it’s not important to win or to lose,” Frigoni noted. “Because in these matches, we can get information by statistics, motions, and to see if the players are good enough to compete and what we have to improve.”
Louie Ramirez added 15 points for Alas Pilipinas, while Steven Rotter tallied 14. Veteran middle blocker Kim Malabunga, a hero from the 2019 SEA Games squad, also made his presence felt with nine points, including four blocks. Ordiales and Buddin added six and five markers, respectively.
Thailand was led by Khonhand Amornthep, who finished with 25 points built on 19 attacks, five aces, and a block. Thungkham Chaiwat chipped in 16, while Nilsawai Kissada and Phanram Anurak added 12 and seven points, respectively.
Earlier in the day, Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi of Indonesia edged out South Korea’s Hyundai Capital in another five-set thriller, 22-25, 25-12, 25-23, 20-25, 15-11, to salvage a win and finish the tournament with a 1-2 record.
Arjuna Mahendra paced the back-to-back Proliga champions with 24 points, highlighted by seven blocks, while Agil Angga added 19 points off a mix of aces, spikes, and blocks. Despite a winless campaign, Hyundai Capital saw solid performances from Lee Seung Jun, who scored 21, and Lee Jae Hyun, who contributed 17.
The victory capped off a banner day for Philippine volleyball, with the women’s squad also delivering a statement sweep of Kazakhstan earlier in the day to return to the AVC Women’s Nations Cup semifinals.
