Alas Pilipinas Men repeat over Myanmar to finish 5th in SEA V Cup Leg 2

Lirick Mendoza delivered a solid outing in his new playing position, steering Alas Pilipinas Men to a 28-26, 25-17, 25-23 win over Myanmar to finish fifth in 2026 SEA V Cup Leg 2 on Saturday in Indonesia.

Mendoza, who is among the best middle blockers in the UAAP, shone as an opposite spiker in the tournament and capped off his Alas debut with 21 points as Alas took the fifth-place anew.

Alas also finished fifth in Leg 1 by sweeping Myanmar as well.

Myanmar gave Alas Pilipinas a threat in Set 1 after forcing a 26-all deadlock but Mendoza, one of the two Best Middle Blockers in UAAP Season 88, hammered a kill from the right side before an attack error from the opposing side allowed the Filipinos to take the opening frame.

It was a different story in Set 2 as Alas made an early separation from the Burmese by racing to a 23-16 lead before Mendoza clinched the set point with another kill from the opposite. His fellow UAAP star Jian Matthew Salarzon of Ateneo then closed it out from the other side as Alas secured a commanding 2-0 lead.

Mendoza continued to punish Myanmar with back-to-back hits for a 19-16 cushion, but the foes replied with a 3-1 swing that cut their deficit to just one.

Team captain Lloyd Josafat helped stop the bleeding for the Philippines with two straight points, including a block and a power kill off an overpass from Myanmar, to send Alas to a 23-19 lead.

Reigning NCAA MVP Axel Van Book unleashed a cross-court winner from the left wing to bring the Philippines to match point, but Myanmar refused to go away, scoring back-to-back points to trim the deficit to 24-23. Mendoza, however, slammed the door shut, soaring for a powerful back-row attack that sealed the straight-sets victory.

In the classification round, Alas fell to Cambodia, 25-20, 25-21, 26-24, and to Indonesia, 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19.

—JKC, GMA News