Adajar, Ordiales lead retooled Alas Pilipinas past Vietnam in SEA V.League

0Shares

Alas Pilipinas continues to build momentum for the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2025, displaying its bench depth with a commanding straight-sets win over Vietnam, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19, in the Southeast Asian V.League on Wednesday, July 10, at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.

With key players sidelined, Eco Adajar and Leo Ordiales led the charge for the Philippines in a reshuffled lineup that barely missed a beat. The win marked another promising step for the team’s World Championship preparation and gave fans in Ilocos Sur a taste of high-level volleyball.

The Candon City Arena crowd witnessed another dominant Alas Pilipinas performance. [photo credit: Candon City official Facebook]

Adajar, Ordiales deliver in place of sidelined stars

Stepping in for the ailing Owa Retamar, the 23-year-old Adajar quarterbacked the team with confidence, guiding Alas Pilipinas through three smooth sets. “It’s the same game plan, whoever is called,” said Adajar. “There was not much adjustment for us, especially since I have been working closely with Leo in training.”

Adajar’s connection with Ordiales was on full display as the latter scored 20 points, all on attacks, while Buds Buddin and Jade Disquitado added 16 and 9 points, respectively. The absence of Marck Espejo and Louie Ramirez—out due to injury and graduation, respectively—proved to be no hurdle for the resurgent Philippine squad.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Ngoc Thuan tallied 13 points in the loss, with Van Hiep Pham and Tran Duy Tuyen contributing seven apiece.

Philippines eyes Cambodia after Thailand clash

After a spirited return by Louie Ramirez and Owa Retamar in Thursday’s match against Thailand, Alas Pilipinas will take a rest day on Friday before resuming action against Cambodia on Saturday and Indonesia on Sunday.

Vietnam, meanwhile, rebounded by defeating Cambodia in straight sets, 25-23, 25-20, 25-21, recording 11 blocks in the process. The tournament is backed by PNVF partners PLDT, MWell, Meralco, Rebisco, Akari, Nuvali, and suppliers Asics, Senoh, Mikasa, with Cignal as the official TV partner and support from the PSC, POC, and the City of Candon.

Tickets for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Philippines 2025 are now available at philippineswch2025.com.