BANGKOK—Alas Pilipinas seeks to replicate a historic feat six years ago against the same rival when it takes on host Thailand in the knockout semifinal of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men’s indoor volleyball competition Thursday at the Indoor Stadium Huamark here.
Opening serve of the battle for a spot in the gold-medal round is at 6:30 p.m. (Manila time).
The Filipino spikers are back in the semis for the first time since bagging silver in the 2019 Manila edition.
Alas is looking to follow the same script from three SEA Games ago when it eliminated the Thais in a come-from-behind five-setter Final Four upset that earned the Philippines a first finals appearance in 42 years.
Despite suffering a 17-25, 25-27, 24-26, loss to three-time defending champion Indonesia last Tuesday to end the pool play, Alas head coach Angiolino Frigoni remains confident about his team’s chances to advance to the biggest stage of the competition for an assured silver medal finish.
“There is only one focus for us: to win the semifinal. That’s it,” he said.
“We are doing all we can. To be honest, we did all we could do at this moment. We have this problem with the serve — we’re talking to the players, and they have to get back their confidence. It’s mostly confidence. And after that, we will see what happens.”
Hitters Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo and setter Owa Retamar – the key players of the fabled 2019 ‘miracle team’ – are back to deliver the same magical moment for Alas, which eyes an end to a six-year podium drought.
Thailand, which saw its four-peat reign come to an end at the hands of Alas in the 30th edition of the biennial meet, is determined to return the favor in front of its home crowd.
The Thais swept Group A with dominating wins over Singapore, Laos and Vietnam to earn the top seeding in the crossover semis.
Meanwhile, Indonesia faces Vietnam in the other semis pairing.
The gold medal and battle for bronze will be played on Friday.
