Alas Pilipinas men’s team closed out its campaign in the AVC Nations Cup on a high note, defeating New Zealand in four sets, 25-16, 23-25, 25-11, 25-22, to secure 10th place.

Bouncing back from a tough loss to Chinese Taipei, the Filipinos showed poise and urgency in their final outing to retain their spot for the second straight year in the tournament.

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With Steven Rotter leading the way, Alas Pilipinas swung momentum after dropping the second set by dominating the Kiwis with a 25-11 third frame assault.

Rotter finished with 20 points off 17 attacks, a block, and two aces while Marck Espejo and Louie Ramirez added 14 points each.

That boost carried over into the fourth decision, where the Filipinos fended off a late push from New Zealand before securing their lone win.

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New Zealand drew a combined 25 points from Seth Grant and Andrew Salmon in a losing effort.

The competition, held in Manama in Bahrain, was stalled for a few days amid rising tensions in the Middle East before pushing through with the final on Tuesday.

Host Bahrain won its maiden AVC Nations’ Cup title.

The Angiolino Frigoni-coached men’s team, which is deep in its build-up for the FIVB Men’s World Championships, fell winless in the preliminaries and dropped its first game in the classification phase against regional rival Thailand.