The AVC Women’s Challenge Cup performance of Philippine volleyball shows that the sport is witnessing a tremendous comeback. As Alas Pilipinas wins, doubts about this comeback are dissipating and being replaced with a strong belief in the team’s potential.
The Philippines defeated Chinese Taipei decisively on Sunday night, winning 25-13, 25-21, and 25-18. This belief was clearly shown by the close victory. An enthusiastic audience at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila witnessed this victory, which concluded a perfect four-match sweep of Pool A.
The top position in Pool A was guaranteed by the host country’s flawless performance in the group stage, and Tuesday’s semifinal matchup with Kazakhstan—the second-seeded team in Pool B—looks enticing. In the other semifinal, top-seeded Vietnam of Pool B will play second-seeded Australia of Pool A, which had earlier defeated Iran 26-24, 25-23, 25-27, 31-29.
With a strong win over No. 46 Chinese Taipei, the team has surged from No. 62 to No. 57 in the FIVB global rankings, further demonstrating the volleyball team’s comeback.
The Philippines, looking to write more chapters in their historic comeback, is well-positioned to better their seventh-place result from last year in Indonesia, where they won a bronze medal at the Southeast Asian Games 19 years ago in Manila. They seek to finish on the podium for the first time overseas. Should luck is on their side, Alas Pilipinas may perhaps win their first championship since the Singapore SEA Games in 1993.
By carefully switching around players, national team coach Jorge Souza de Brito appears to be priming his group for this final objective. As with the rest of Eya Laure and Thea Gagate, he rested Angel Canino, Sisi Rondina, and Fifi Sharma for this match.
Faith Nisperos, Vannie Gandler, and Chery Nunag all made big plays in this game to validate De Brito’s faith in them, as they easily defeated a Taiwanese team that was playing with their under-23 squad. Chinese Taipei dropped to 0-4, unable to secure a victory.
