The Philippines put on a brave stand but its effort fell short, losing to Kazakhstan, 19-25, 14-25, 18-25, in the 15th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championships on Tuesday at the San Andres gym.

The Kazakhs, boasting of two 6-foot-11 players, towered over the inexperienced Filipino, repelling their attacks with their rock-solid defense to wrap up the match in just 58 minutes in Pool A.

The loss was the second for the Filipinos, thus putting their quarterfinals bid in peril. They also lost to Myanmar last Sunday.

For them to advance to the next stage, they have to beat the Taiwanese tomorrow and hope that Myanmar (1-1) loses to Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Anton Yudin and Marat Imangaliyev led the Kazakhs with 16 and 11 hits, respectively.

RP team captain Dante Alinsunurin offered no excuses for their defeat.

“Mabigat talaga ang mga palo nila. Hindi namin mahuli. Nag-try kami na bilisan ang laro, pero sumabit naman kami sa mga receive namin kaya hindi rin umubra ang game plan,” Alinsunurin, the most veteran in the team.

The Kazakhs were threatened in the third when the Nationals closed in at 8-11 behind the efforts of Edjet Mabbayad and Clarence Esteban.

But that was the best the Filipinos could do as the Kazakhs turned on the heat anew to finally pull away.

Earlier, 2007 Thailand Southeast Asian Games silver medalist Vietnam flexed just enough muscle to outplay Hong Kong, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22, for a 1-1 record in Pool C. Hong Kong slipped to a 0-3 hole.