Alas Pilipinas falls short of AVC U18 quarterfinal berth after reverse-sweep loss

HAIKOU, China — Alas Pilipinas Boys saw its bid for a historic quarterfinal appearance in the AVC Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship slip away after surrendering a two-set lead in a heartbreaking 25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 4-15 defeat to India on Tuesday at the Wuyuan River Gymnasium.

The setback left the Philippines with a 1-2 record, good for third place in Pool B. Its lone victory came against Bahrain, which finished winless at 0-3.

The Filipinos looked poised to secure a breakthrough after taking command of the opening two sets behind the strong play of Terrence Marticion, Allan-Rey Dais, Terrence Gamotea, and John Daniel Dela Cruz.

India, however, found its rhythm midway through the match, making key adjustments against the Philippine offense directed by team captain Howard Guerra to level the contest and force a deciding fifth set.

Hoping to catch India off balance, Alas Pilipinas shuffled its lineup in the final set by moving Jeffe Gallego to setter while shifting Guerra to the open hitter position. The adjustment failed to produce the desired result as India, led by captain Sourabh Kashma, Adarsh Singh, and Deepak Deepak, stormed to an early 8-2 advantage.

Gamotea briefly halted the run with a block on Kashma, but India quickly answered with four unanswered points to build a commanding 12-3 lead.

Guerra snapped the drought with a crosscourt attack, but a Philippine net violation brought India to match point before Kashma finished off the comeback with consecutive service aces.

"We were so close; we were already there, but we fell short. We did not hold on until the end. There are situations where we could take the set and win, but maybe this match is not for us," said head coach Oliver Balse.

"I am still happy with how they performed because I can really see the skills, but maturity is something we really need to work on," he added.

Marticion paced the Philippines with 16 points on 14 attacks and two aces, while Dais and Gallego contributed 14 points apiece. Gamotea and Dela Cruz added nine markers each.

"We are thankful because we gave our best. No one was injured, and we will do our best in the classification round," Marticion said.

"We will keep our heads up high. This is a hard lesson for us, but it also inspires us to become better players when we return to our leagues in the Philippines," he added.

Kashma powered India with a match-high 31 points, while Deepak added 16 to help complete the reverse sweep.

Although their quarterfinal hopes have ended, Alas Pilipinas will continue its campaign in the classification phase, with its next opponent to be determined after the completion of the remaining Pool B matches.

The Philippines opened the tournament with a straight-set loss to Iran, 17-25, 20-25, 13-25, before bouncing back with a four-set victory over Bahrain, 25-22, 13-25, 25-23, 25-14, on Monday.

Iran topped Pool B with a flawless 3-0 record, while India advanced to the quarterfinals after improving to 2-1. Bahrain closed out the group stage without a victory at 0-3.