ALMOST wasn’t enough for Alas Pilipinas Boys as they stood on the brink of a historic quarterfinals berth in the AVC Boys’ U18 World Championships but ultimately collapsed against India, suffering a reverse sweep defeat, 25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 4-15, on Tuesday afternoon at the Wuyuan River Gymnasium in Haikou, China.

Alas placed third in the Pool B with a 1-2 win-loss record, only winning a match over Bahrain (0-3), while Iran (3-0) and India (2-1) will head to the quarterfinals since only the top two teams of the four pools will advance to the next round.

The Philippines held a 2-0 advantage after kickstarting their match on a high note with Terrence  Marticion, Allan-Rey Dais, Terrence Gamotea, and John Daniel Dela Cruz smashing from all angles.

But India found its rhythm in the third and fourth frames, scouting the plays executed by Alas team captain Howard Guerra to force a decider.

In set five, Louie Jeff Gallego served as the playmaker, while Guerra played as an open hitter with hopes to confuse India.

However, India’s team captain Sourabh Kashma, together with Adarsh Singh and Deepak Deepak were on fire to allow their team to earn a huge 8-2 lead.

The Philippines stopped the bleeding with Gamotea blocking Kashma’s attack, but India responded with a 4-0 rally to further widen the gap, 12-3.

Guerra finally scored from a cross-court kill, but the frustrated Alas committed a net error that continued to benefit India, 13-4.

Kashma finished the match with back-to-back service aces that gave India a ticket to the quarterfinals.

“We were so close; we were already there, but we fell short. We did not hold on until the end. There are situations where we could take the set and win, but maybe this match is not for us,” head coach Oliver Balse said.

“I am still happy with how they performed, because I can really see the skills, but the maturity is something that we really need to work on,” he added.

Alas was led by Marticion’s 16-point output on 14 attacks and two aces, while Galapin and Dais chipped in 14 points each.

Gamotea and Dela Cruz added nine points for the Philippines.

“We are thankful since we gave our best. No one was injured, and we will do our best in the classification round,” Marticion said.

“We still keep our heads up high, and this serves as a hard-learned lesson for us. Still, we are inspired to do better in our own leagues in the Philippines,” he added.

India’s Kashma exploded for 31 points, while Deepak made 16 points.

Philippines’ opponent in the classification round will be determined once Day 3 concludes later Tuesday.