Alas Pilipinas Men drop five-set thriller vs. Cambodia in SEA V Cup opener

The Alas Pilipinas Men fell behind early in Set 5 and never recovered, absorbing a 23-25, 30-28, 20-25, 25-22, 8-15 loss to Cambodia in Leg 1 of the 2026 SEA V Cup on Wednesday in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.

The Filipinos, bannered by a mix of veterans and collegiate standouts, had no answer to the Cambodians in the final frame as the visiting team surged to an early 4-0 lead and never looked back.

Alas dropped to 0-1 in Pool A ahead of its clash against powerhouse and rival Indonesia on Friday while Cambodia opened its campaign at 1-0.

The Filipinos made a gallant Set 1 comeback with Louie Ramirez sparking a run that turned a 24-21 deficit to just one. However, Cambodia finished the opening frame from the back row courtesy of Pin Sarun to draw first blood.

Alas refused to disappoint the home crowd by gutting out wins in Sets 2 and 4 to drag the Cambodians to a deciding frame.

Cambodia, though, put the first four sets in the rearview as Kuon Mom capped a pivotal 4-0 start to open the fifth before Chan Veasna unloaded back-to-back points on a kill and a service ace to bring Cambodia to a 9-4 lead.

The Philippines was able to trim the gap to six after Joshua Magalaman quick kill and an error from Mom, 7-13. But Sarun soared from the back anew to clinch the match point at 14-7.

Magalaman, a middle blocker from La Salle, converted another quick hammer on the next play but a service error from Ramirez allowed Cambodia to complete the five-set victory.

—JKC, GMA News