Philippines outlasts Mongolia to sweep AVC Challenge Cup for Men pool stage

The Philippine men's volleyball team completed an elimination round sweep of the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men after outlasting Mongolia in five sets, 22-25, 25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 15-12, on Monday in Taipei, Taiwan.

The Filipinos will wrap up the pool stage with a clean 2-0 win-loss record to top the Group D while Mongolia and Macau finished at 1-1 and 0-2, respectively.

Ryan Ka unleashed back-to-back attacks to send the Philippines to a 5-5 deadlock before Mongolia gained some momentum with two consecutive kills from the opposite side as they retook the lead, 12-10.

But the Filipinos uncorked a 5-0 closing run fueled by a backrow attack from veteran Marck Espejo and capped by an attack error from Mongolia as the Philippines completed the five-set triumph.

Espejo shone brightly for the Philippine team, pouring in a game-high 36 points built on 29 attacks, two blocks, and five aces to steer the nationals.

The win came just a day after the Philippines swept Macau to kick off its campaign on Sunday.

The Filipino spikers will return to action on July 12 for the Final 12 round.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News