Alas Pilipinas men put up a gallant stand but still fell short against the visiting Osaka Bluteon, 27-29, 23-25, 12-25, in an exhibition match on Saturday, September 7, held at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The opening frame saw a nail-biting finish, with both teams extending it, but the hometown team eventually succumbed to the Yuji Nishida-powered Osaka.

Nishida spearheaded the Bluteon’s offense, tallying 15 points on 14 attacks and one ace. American spiker Thomas John Jaeschke scored 10 points, all from attacks.

Jade Disquitado held the fort for Alas men after putting up 11 points on 10 attacks and an ace, while Michaelo Buddin added 10 points built mostly on spikes.

Reflecting on the match, Buddin said they were more confident this time as they followed the calls and system of Angiolino Frigoni — that’s why they had put up a fight against the Japanese powerhouse.

“Siguro mas kumpyansa ‘yung team ngayon na maglaro. ‘Yung sa sistema siguro, sunod lang kami sa siguro sa sistema kung anong meron kami,” he said.

Buddin also bared one reason why Osaka dominated the third set as the latter closed out the friendly.

“Lahat talaga nag-contribute kaya ganun ‘yung kinalabasan ng game. And nung third set, medyo na-short na kami, wala nang kumpyansang pumasa, and kaya ayun tuloy-tuloy nang natalo,” Buddin added.

Alas men could bounce back against the Bluteon at the same Metro Manila venue.

Nishida hopes Alas will perform better. “Sometimes they’re very good. I hope in the next match we’ll play a higher level match.”

The exhibition matches mark the year-long countdown to the historic staging of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championships. (ABS-CBN News)