Bryan Bagunas of Alas Pilipinas Men. File photo from Volleyball World
Alas Pilipinas Men put up a fight but came up short against South Korea, 16-25, 25-27, 22-25, in their opening match at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, Sunday at the Park Arena Komaki.
After absorbing a lopsided Set 1 loss, the Filipino spikers lost a golden opportunity to tie the match in the ensuing frame, as errors proved costly, despite leading over the Koreans for most of the frame.
Just as Bryan Bagunas put the Philippines on set point, 24-23, with a sharp hit, Cha Youngseok answered back with a kill of his own.
The Filipinos reached another set point after a Bagunas attack, 25-24, but he threw the ball away on his next serve, giving a free point to the Koreans that knotted the match.
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Bagunas and Leo Ordiales' attack errors ultimately handed a 2-0 set lead to the Koreans.
In Set 3, Joshua Magalaman breathed some life into Alas' fight, as he and Ordiales trimmed down a 23-20 Korean lead into 23-22, but the National U spiker's succeeding service went wide, putting Korea on match point, 24-22.
A Choi Junhyeok block on Marck Espejo closed the match in the opposing side's favor, as Alas Men dropped to 0-1 in Pool D.
Bagunas, as expected, was the Philippines' top-scorer, listing 15 points built on 13 attacks, one block, and an ace, while Magalaman added 13 markers on 10 spikes and three rejections on the net.
Ordiales finished with 11 points, while Espejo chipped in seven.Alas Men's next opponent is China, scheduled for Monday, September 28.