Alas Pilipinas holds its own against Kyrgyzstan and hopes to achieve this against the Koreans. —MARLO CUETO
CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur—Alas Pilipinas shifts its focus onto a pivotal test against South Korea on Tuesday within the AVC Women’s Cup after regaining its footing with a dominant victory over Kyrgyzstan.
Lower than 24 hours after squandering a two-set lead in a five-set loss to Australia, Alas bounced back with a convincing 25-9, 25-11, 25-17 victory on Monday at Candon City Arena to enhance to 2-1 in Pool A.
The lopsided win allowed interim coach Shaq Delos Santos to rotate his lineup and provides key players a probability to regain confidence heading into an important showdown with South Korea, which opened the tournament with victories over Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
“You possibly can consider it a do-or-die game, but we still have a probability in our last match,” Delos Santos said in Filipino. “Immediately, our focus is on playing higher tomorrow. Why not? The ball is round. We just want to offer our greatest and play an excellent match relatively than take into consideration all of the possible scenarios.”
Alas closes its Pool A campaign against Chinese Taipei on Thursday, with only the highest two teams advancing to the semifinals.
“South Korea moves well as a team. Chinese Taipei has a distinct style altogether,” Delos Santos said. “Because the tournament goes on, we’re seeing how tough these teams are to play against.”
The Philippine squad immediately turned its attention to film study after Monday’s victory, reviewing South Korea’s first two matches.
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Middle blocker Thea Gagate said Alas must keep on with its identity against a Korean side ranked No. 38 on this planet and sixth in Asia after recently being relegated from the Volleyball Nations League.
“For me and for the team, we just should keep on with what we’ve been working on in training,” said Gagate, who led all scorers with 11 points on eight attacks, two blocks and an ace. “We all know South Korea is a quick team, so we’d like to regulate quickly and be able to match that pace.”
Gagate, a holdover from the national team’s bronze-medal campaign within the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup, said she hopes to contribute more within the tournament’s biggest matches.
“It’s about giving my best and applying every part I’ve learned from my previous national team tournaments,” she said.
Top scorers
Jovelyn Gonzaga paced Alas with 10 points, while Alyssa Valdez added nine and Ces Molina chipped in eight. Cla Loresco and Ara Galang scored 4 and three points, respectively, while Tin Ubaldo and Tots Carlos also saw motion.
Alyssa Solomon, who erupted for 23 points against Australia, was limited to the third set and finished with three points. Delos Santos said the 6-foot-1 opposite hitter can have a much bigger role against South Korea.
“We’ll must utilize her more tomorrow,” he said. “But with Jovelyn, you already know what you’re getting. She’s all the time a fighter and all the time able to compete.”
Kyrgyzstan fell to 0-3 despite 4 points from Aiturgan Aitbekova. Alas dominated the attack department, 48-12, while Kyrgyzstan held a 6-4 edge in blocks. INQ