Plenty of work needed for Alas Men

NAGOYA, Japan – The Alas Pilipinas Men finished in 13th place after collecting only two wins in the 16-nation event at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, but will return home with heads held high and plenty of work to do moving forward.

Led by team Bryan Bagunas, Alas nailed its first victory on Friday, beating Uzbekistan, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, before winning by default against Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Though it was not the outcome they had hoped to achieve, the Alas squad showed flashes of brilliance despite having limited time to practice together, especially against the mighty China side during the preliminary round.

They also put up a valiant stand against Chinese-Taipei and Indonesia but ultimately fell short.

Alas team manager Ronwald Dimaculangan pointed to limited preparation as the culprit for their near misses.

“Preparation talaga like training camp and need for better result but happy naman to get a win at the Asian Games,” said Dimaculangan, who also handles the University of the East team in the UAAP.

Like the traditional powerhouses in the Asian region, Dimaculangan said the country needs a strong program, saying: “We need to identify talent and the right coaches who have experience playing and coaching at the international level.”

“And the goal is to represent the country para yung level ng goal nila hindi pang local lang,” added Dimaculangan.

Dimaculangan, however, stressed that it must be a collaborative effort with proper support from all stakeholders.