Camille Naredo

Article (news)

Alas Pilipinas

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749829566146DSC04635.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Alas Pilipinas in the 2025 AVC Women&#x27;s Nations Cup. Handout/AVC"/>Alas Pilipinas in the 2025 AVC Women&#x27;s Nations Cup. Handout/AVC</div>MANILA (UPDATED) -- For the first time in over six decades, the Philippine women&#x27;s national volleyball team will play in the gold medal match of an Asian-level competition.Alas Pilipinas got it done the hard way on Friday night, squandering a two-set advantage and engaging in a nip-and-tuck decider before finally outlasting Chinese Taipei, 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 15-12 at the Dong Anh Gymnasium in Hanoi.With the heart-stopping win, Alas is assured of at least a silver medal -- already an improvement from their third place finish in last year&#x27;s Challenge Cup that was held in the Philippines. Their last hurdle is the host nation Vietnam, which advanced to the Finals unscathed after beating Kazakhstan, 25-19, 19-25, 25-7, 25-16, in the other semifinal pairing.For a few hours, however, the Philippines can first celebrate their historic triumph against Chinese Taipei, wherein they displayed great composure in the final set after a shaky performance in Sets 3 and 4.Plenty of credit goes to Eya Laure, who came alive in the fifth set, scoring the down-the-line attack that gave Alas Pilipinas the lead for good, 7-6, after Chinese Taipei had surged to an early two-point advantage.Laure would score six points in the final frame, including the booming crosscourt kill that put the Philippines at match point, 14-11. The gritty Chinese Taipei squad showed no quit, with Chang Yi-Chi saving a match point. The match ended when Bella Belen&#x27;s crosscourt attack was deemed out, only for the call to be challenged by head coach Jorge de Brito. The replay showed that Belen&#x27;s hit had caught the finger of a Chinese Taipei player -- sending the Philippine side into tears and rapture.Belen finished with 15 points on 11 kills and four blocks, while fellow former National University star Alyssa Solomon had 12 points on nine kills, two blocks, and an ace. Fifi Sharma played her best game in the tournament, with 10 points on five attacks, three blocks, and two aces.Laure finished with nine points, matching the output of Angel Canino.The Philippines leaned on their net defense to cruise to a 25-17 win in the opener, then benefited from unforced errors by Chinese Taipei in Set 2. The second frame was tied at 17 when Chinese Taipei committed back-to-back errors, and a clutch hit by Solomon, an ace by Sharma, and a kill block by Laure sealed the deal for Alas Pilipinas.Momentum shifted in Chinese Taipei&#x27;s favor come the third period, however, as Alas fizzled out after winning the first three points. Instead, they had no answer for Chen Chieh, who scored the final three points of the period to keep her squad alive.It was all Chinese Taipei in Set 4. Middle blocker Yeh Yu-Wen imposed her will at the net early, and the Philippines could not recover from a sluggish start even with the entry of Laure, Thea Gagate, and Shaina Nitura.Still armed with momentum, Chinese Taipei surged to an early 5-3 advantage in the fifth set off a down-the-line hit from Chang. But a mishit by Liu Shuang Ling and a clever drop shot by Belen knotted the count at 5-5, and the two teams exchanged hits from there.Alas looked as though it had taken control when skipper Jia de Guzman fired an ace and Laure checked a ball off the Chinese Taipei blockers for a 13-9 advantage. Their opponents made one last stand, with Chen going down the line and Chang firing a crosscourt attack before Laure responded to put the Philippines at match point.Chang only briefly stalled Alas&#x27; march, as Belen&#x27;s final hit proved to be the winner upon review.They will now play Vietnam in an all-Southeast Asia final to determine the gold medalist of the Nations Cup -- as well as the tournament&#x27;s lone qualifier to the 2026 Asian Championship.Saturday&#x27;s final marks the first time that the Philippine women&#x27;s national volleyball team will play in a gold medal match since the 1997 Southeast Asian Games, when they lost to Thailand.Chen had 19 points and Liu added 17 for Chinese Taipei, which will play Kazakhstan for the bronze on Saturday.<div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>

Alas Pilipinas is headed to the Finals of the 2025 AVC Women's Nations Cup after a heart-stopping victory against Chinese Taipei.

Alas Pilipinas is headed to the Finals of the 2025 AVC Women's Nations Cup after a heart-stopping victory against Chinese Taipei.

Alas Pilipinas through to Nations Cup Finals after thriller vs. Chinese Taipei

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Alas Pilipinas through to Nations Cup Finals after thriller vs. Chinese Taipei

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 13, 2025 11:15 PM PHT

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Updated June 13, 2025 11:48 PM PHT

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