Alas Pilipinas test run

Alas Pilipinas' campaign at the 2025 VTV Cup did not end with a coveted medal, but it did send a powerful message all the same — one that tells all and sundry the team is no fluke, no flash-in-the-pan experiment, and certainly no pushover on the regional stage.

- ANTHONY L. CUAYCONG

The loss to Chinese Taipei in the bronze medal match 17-25, 24-26, 22-25 hurts, no doubt. Then again, the final score tells only part of the story.

It's easy to zero in on the missed opportunities. A 23-22 lead in the second set that slipped away. A 22-21 edge in the third, followed by a string of costly miscues mental lapses under pressure, the kind that separate medalists from mere contenders. Still, to focus solely on the failure to claim a podium finish would be to miss the bigger picture. After all, the team isn't even supposed to be this good yet.