Alas Pilipinas snags inaugural men's SEA VLeague triumph

c/o SEA VLeague

History is finally achieved on Friday night, as the Philippines finally secured a victory in the Southeast Asian VLeague at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Alas Pilipinas earned the win after a 25-21 25-22 18-25 25-23 result against Vietnam, a matchup that lasted over 130 minutes, and is a statement triumph for the side under new head coach Angiolino Frigoni.

The Italian mentor shared afterwards, "Everybody has to be ready, we play with the players, not with the name on the shirt. The players have to play, it doesn’t matter if it’s their first time on the national team, for me it doesn’t matter."

Bryan Bagunas led the way for the Philippines with fifteen spikes, a couple of blocks and a couple of aces. Nine of his points came in the first set as he got things going.

He would find help in a fellow National University standout in Michaelo Buddin, as Buddin finished with nine spikes, three blocks and a couple of aces, with half of his fourteen points coming in the second set.

NCAA standout Louie Ramirez contributed eleven spikes.

Pham Van Hiep and Duong Van Tien each scored fifteen points to lead Vietnam, with Nguyen Ngoc Thuan adding fourteen himself.

Vietnam seeks to bounce back against Thailand on Saturday afternoon, with Alas Pilipinas hoping to make it back-to-back wins against Indonesia at 6pm.

Thailand impress in SEA V.League opener

Thailand opens the 2024 edition of the men's Southeast Asian Volleyball League on Friday with a straight sets victory over Indonesia at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, 25-21 25-23 25-20.

Thungkham Chaiwat led the charge for the Thais with nine spikes, three blocks, and an ace, teaming up with Nilsawai Kissada in forming a solid net defense.

Kissada would finish with eleven points, four of which came from blocks. The two combined to contribute half of Thailand's fourteen blocks in the match that lasted just over an hour and a half.

Bhinijdee Napadet also tacked on eleven markers for the Thais, who could only muster a silver and a bronze in the two legs that took place last year.

24-year-old opposite hitter Anggara Agil Angga led the charge for Indonesia, who won both legs last year, with fifteen spikes, a couple of aces, and a block.

The aforementioned net defense proved to be an obstacle they could not overcome, with the duo of Kurniawan Hendra and Putrama Fahri Septian combined to produce just thirteen points.

Thailand will look to make it 2-0 in this leg hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation against Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, while Indonesia seeks to bounce back against Alas Pilipinas this evening.