Alas Boys beat Bahrain, stay in contention in AVC U18

THE Alas Pilipinas Boys overcame a second-set hiccup to frustrate Bahrain, 25-22, 13-25, 25-23, 25-14, for their first victory in the 2026 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Boys’ U18 Championship on Monday at the Wuyuan River Gymnasium in Haikou, China.

The Philippines and India, both with a 1-1 win-loss record in Pool B, will face off in a high-stakes match on Tuesday at 1 p.m., with the winner joining Iran (2-0) in the quarterfinals.

Only the top two teams from each of the four pools will advance to the next round.

“They showed heart in today’s match, and I told the boys that we need this win for us to improve our chances of making it to the next round,” Alas head coach Oliver Balse said. “Next up is India, and we want to give our all.”

With only a month and a half to prepare for the championship, Balse was glad to see his team's composure against Bahrain.

“What’s different in today’s match is that they showed more confidence compared to our first outing,” he said. “I’m happy with how they performed. The team is more focused, and you can tell that they really want to win—especially on how they fought in the third set.”

The Philippines lost to Iran, 17-25, 20-25, 13-25, in its first assignment in the tournament last Saturday.

Alas was relentless in the third frame after breaking away from a 16-16 deadlock—the Filipinos took the lead behind a 6-4 rally with Terrence Marticion and Raphael Galapin volting for a 22-20 lead.

Bahrain committed back-to-back errors, allowing the Philippines to enjoy a set-point advantage at 24-20, but put up a scare with a 3-0 run behind Mohamed Haram for a 24-23 count.

Bahrain committed a net error, giving the Philippines the third-set, 25-23.

The Philippines refused to have a deciding set as Alas made a total domination in the fourth frame with a 25-14 victory.