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The road only gets tougher as they square off against African powerhouse Egypt on Tuesday, continuing their campaign at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Filipinos (0-1) will lock horns against the reigning Men’s African Nations Volleyball champions Egypt (1-0) at 5:30 p.m. with the hosts looking to break through and keep their campaign alive while the latter seek their second victory.
Egypt, ranked no. 22 in the world, enters the match with momentum and confidence after toppling Asian powerhouse and world no. 13 Iran on Sunday in a game which saw the Egyptians take a 25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20 win.
They powered Egypt in that masterclass, firing 18 and 17 points, respectively, to stun the second-best Asian team in the tournament.
But while the challenge is tougher this time, Alas Pilipinas are determined to bounce back from their opening-day setback against Tunisia, where they fell in straight sets, 13-25, 17-25, 23-25.
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“For me, it wasn’t a good start but for the third set, I saw the potential of men’s volleyball. I was so happy to see the performance in the third set,” team captain Bryan Bagunas said.
“The outcome wasn’t great but for sure, we will try to bounce back next game.”
Bagunas was among the bright spots in that sweep loss to Tunisia, dropping 23 points anchored on 20 attacks, two aces, and one block, while Marck Espejo chipped in nine markers, six receptions, and four digs.
The Filipinos showed flashes of resilience late in the third frame, with the returning Bagunas sparking a rally before they faded in the endgame.
They now hope to draw from that fight as they chase a breakthrough win in front of the home crowd.
Alas head coach admitted that emotions played a huge factor for his squad in their first outing, but expressed optimism that the players can channel that energy into execution when they take on Egypt.
“We played three sets. The first two, I think especially the first one was really tense. I mean, too much emotion for the team, especially for the young ones. Slowly by slowly, we started to play our volleyball with defense, with some good attacks,” the tactician said.
“What I would like for this team is they fight for every point. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This is what I want from this team.”
For Egypt’s part, they believe that the true level of Philippine volleyball was on display during the gutsy third-set comeback against Tunisia.
“After tomorrow will be a very, very difficult match because Philippines was a little bit nervous first and second set but they played very good from the third set,” the head coach said.
“I’m sure that the level of the Philippine team is what they showed us in the third set so it will be a very tough match after tomorrow.”
