Reporting note: this article draws on gmanetwork.com; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
A Walkover Finish to the Asian Games Run
A win is a win, even if you never have to lace up and step onto the court. The Alas Pilipinas Men officially locked down 13th place in the Asian Games men's volleyball competition after scheduled opponent Kyrgyzstan pulled out of their classification matchup on Saturday.
Instead of a fierce battle at the net, the match was declared an official walkover before the scheduled noon start.
“The Technical Delegate received confirmation from the KGZ team that they will not participate in Match #42 between KGZ and PHI. Therefore, the match will be declared a forfeit, with the official result recorded as 0–3 (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) in favor of PHI. The match schedule will remain unchanged,” the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee announced.
How Alas Pilipinas Got Here
It was a grueling campaign for the Philippine squad from the jump. Drawn into a brutal group stage, Alas Pilipinas went winless against heavy-hitting regional giants South Korea, China, and Chinese Taipei.
Sent into the classification bracket, the Philippines faced another tough test, dropping their initial classification fixture against Southeast Asian rival Indonesia. But did they pack it in? Not quite. The team bounced back with a breakthrough performance against Uzbekistan, grinding out their first victory of the tournament to set up the 13th-place showdown that never was.
While closing a tournament on a walkover is always an unusual sight, the result officially secures 13th place for the Philippines as they wrap up their Asian Games stint.
