MANILA, Philippines – Carrying the Cignal HD Spikers monicker, the Alas Pilipinas men’s national team opened its campaign in the 2025 AVC Men’s Champions League with a sweep loss to Osaka Bluteon, 25-11, 25-21, 25-21, at the Panasonic Arena in Hirakata, Japan, on Sunday, May 11.
Following a lopsided start, the Alas men’s team kept itself within striking distance for the remainder of the game, only to fumble late in both the final two sets.
The Philippine squad went within three points in the third set, 20-23, following a 10-5 run, but Osaka capitalized on the Filipinos’ errors late to seal the win.
Mark Espejo, who sparked the Philippines’ late runs, had 8 of his 9 points off attacks. His performance was highlighted by a block against Olympian Yuji Nishida late in the match as part of his personal 3-0 blast.
The Philippines also saw contributions from Louie Ramirez and Steven Rotter, who added 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Alas led 7-4 early in the second set, but could not sustain the lead against Osaka’s punishing offense as they relied on Nishida and Shoma Tomita to pull themselves back.
Osaka enjoyed 23 opponents’ errors in the match. The Japanese crew also dominated in the attack department with a 41-30 advantage.
With the loss, Alas must now win against the Shanghai Bright to stay afloat in the tournament’s Pool B.
Nishida led Osaka with 13 points on 11 attacks, while Tomita and Miguel Lopez put up 12 points apiece to put Bluteon at 1-0.
The Japanese crew had 33 attacks from just Nishida, Tomita, and Lopez throughout the game.
Alas will face Shanghai on Tuesday, May 13, in a virtual must-win as they look to extend their stay in the continental tournament. – Rappler.com