Alessandra Gwen Santos

Struggling to end their losing drought, Alas Pilipinas suffered another blow, this time to the revenge-driven Thailand in a three straight-set 21-25, 20-25, 18-25 loss in the classification phase of the 2025 Men's Nation's Cup on June 21 at Manama, Bahrain.

Photo Courtesy of AVC.

Coming off a previous victory over Thailand in the Invitationals, the national team couldn’t repeat their success as the Thais came out with strong offensive execution and tight defense, exacting revenge for their earlier loss.

UAAP standouts Buds Buddin and Peng Taguibolos kept Alas afloat in their stinging loss with a gritty 14-point combo lift.

The Filipinos started out flat in the first set with seven errors, which they never recovered from despite their late rally, as Phanram Amurak proved clutch with his dagger hit, 21-25.

The men-in-blue then tried to flip the script through a timely strike from Louie Ramirez at 17-23 to halt Thailand's 4-0 run, though the defending squad held firm and pulled one set away from victory, 2-0.

Comeback hopes slipped further away from the Philippines in the third set after conceding six straight points that handed Thailand match point, before Captain Khonhan Amornthep’s ace completed the sweep.

Meanwhile, Thai veteran Khonhan Amornthep stamped his prowess on the court, racking up 14 points built on 12 attacks and two aces.

With one final shot at their tournament campaign, Alas aim to claim a first win against New Zealand on Tuesday.