Alas Pilipinas Men still winless in Asian Games after loss to China

Alas Pilipinas Men put together another gallant stand but came up short, absorbing a 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 loss to powerhouse China in the 2026 Asian Games men’s volleyball tournament on Monday at Park Arena Komaki in Japan.

Coming off a heartbreaking loss to South Korea just a day earlier, Alas has yet to win a single set in the tournament as it slipped to 0-2 in Pool D and now faces an uphill battle for a quarterfinal berth, with only the top two teams from each group advancing.

China currently leads their pool at 2-0, while South Korea and Chinese Taipei sit at 1-0 and 0-1, respectively, as of posting.

In all three sets, Alas Pilipinas showed plenty of fight against world No. 34 China.

The Filipinos found themselves staring at a 24-17 deficit in the opening frame when team captain Bryan Bagunas caught fire from the service line, firing three straight aces after his own kill to bring the Philippines within three, 21-24.

Much like their loss to South Korea, where Alas committed 23 errors, the Filipinos again faltered at a crucial moment, committing an error that halted their comeback bid and allowed China to close out the opening set.

Alas refused to let China pull away in the second set, with Lirick Mendoza cutting the deficit to one, 17-18, before Bagunas answered with back-to-back kills to keep the Filipinos within striking distance at 19-22. However, China capitalized on a pair of Philippine errors to close out the set and take a commanding 2-0 lead.

Alas shuffled its personnel in the third set, with Jude Garcia and Buds Buddin providing a spark. Buddin scored back-to-back points to trim China’s lead to two, 21-23.

A net error from Alas followed by an attack infraction from Buddin ended the Filipinos’ comeback bid and completed the sweep for China, which won silver in the previous Asian Games and is now eyeing the gold.

Bagunas led the Philippines with 15 points, built on 12 attacks and three aces, while opposite hitter Leo Ordiales added 11 markers. But their efforts were not enough as the Filipinos were still haunted by their errors, committing 27 in the match compared to just nine from China.

—JKC, GMA News