Alas Pilipinas team captain Bryan Bagunas embraced all the lessons from the Asian Games with his teammates as they finished their campaign in 13th place.
Alas was initially scheduled for a final classification game on Saturday, but Kyrgyzstan opted not to play, handing the Philippines 13th place after a 25-0, 25-0, 25-0 win by forfeiture.
Bagunas thanked all the people who supported the team after he revealed at the start of their campaign that the program is still facing the same problem of lack of support and inadequate allowances.
‘Thank you so much for being with us throughout this journey!’ Bagunas said in a Facebook post in Filipino.
‘We ended our Asian Games campaign with a hard-fought win over Uzbekistan. In every match, we gave our all and represented the Philippines with pride and honor.’
Bagunas erupted for 26 points in a 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17 victory over Uzbekistan.
Amid its off-court battles, Alas got a morale-boosting first win after a winless pool stage, losing to South Korea, China, and Chinese Taipei and dropping its first classification game to Indonesia.
‘Thank you to everyone who continued to believe in and support Alas. We’ll carry these lessons and experiences with us as we continue working for Philippine volleyball,’ said Bagunas. ‘We love volleyball. Above all, we love the Philippines. Let’s go, Alas Pilipinas!’
Alas also placed 13th in the 2022 Hangzhou Games.