Bryan Bagunas shared a piece of his mind as Alas Pilipinas lost against host nation Thailand in the semifinals of the men's indoor competition at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday.
Alas Men bowed to the Thais in a straight-set manner, 20-25, 19-25, 21-25, failing to advance to the gold medal match amid high expectations after overperforming in the Philippine-hosted 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship.
There, they defeated a higher-ranked Egyptian squad and fought with their hearts out against Iran.
READ: SEAG: Alas Men succumb to Thailand, drop to bronze medal match
Bagunas acknowledged there was "tremendous pressure" coming into the regional sporting meet, to which the Nationals couldn't shake off.
"Nandun 'yung pressure. Kasi mataas 'yung expectations sa amin ng mga Filipino volleyball fans o kaya lahat ng sumusuporta sa amin. Tingin ko na-overpressure 'yung team, na kailangan pagpunta pa lang dito, nasa utak namin na magka-medal agad," he said.
"Hindi namin inisip na kailangan one game at a time. Kasi alam naman natin dito sa SEA Games, talagang short tournament, lahat naghahanda."
Bagunas admitted that they lacked the eagerness and confidence when they stepped on the taraflex, adding that this wasn't the result they were expecting from this game.
"Feeling ko nabawasan naman 'yung errors. Siguro wala lang 'yung eagerness namin manalo for this game. Speechless ako, kasi hindi to 'yung ine-expect namin na-result for this game. Talagang before the game pinag-usapan namin na kailangan ilaban namin. Siguro talagang hindi para sa amin 'tong game na 'to," he shared.
READ: SEAG: Semis-bound Alas Men wrap up group phase with loss to Indonesia
"Alam mo 'yun, parang wala 'yung fire sa amin eh. Every point parang pilit 'yung celebration namin. Talagang akala mo... Alam mo 'yun, parang wala 'yung... Wala kami sa loob ng court. Parang talagang kulang 'yung kumpiyansa namin sa loob ng court," he added.
Alas Men will now shift their focus to the bronze medal match, where they will face Vietnam.
"Siyempre di pa naman tapos 'yung laban. May chance pa rin kami magka-medal. Kailangan lang namin magpagtrabahuhan pa. Kailangan namin mag-prepare nang maayos."