Alas Pilipinas Women suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the AVC Nations Cup, losing in five grueling sets to Iran in Pool B play.
Alas Pilipinas suffered their first loss in Pool B of the AVC Nations Cup, stumbling against Iran in five sets on Monday, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15. The sorry loss hurt the Philippines' semis hopes after dropping to 2-1.
Despite being ahead, 13-11, in the deciding set, Alas allowed four straight points from Ian that effectively erased the Philippines’ comeback bid. The national team initially battled back from their own early deficit, 5-8.
Alas looked primed for a third straight win after Vanie Gandler fired off an ace, which put the Philippines ahead by two late in the fifth.
But timely net defense from Zahra Salehi kept Iran in the game before they reached match point on an Angel Canino error, 14-13.
Zahra then scored on a kill block also on the DLSU standout, finishing off Alas and keeping their own record intact at 3-0.
Alas looked shaky without opposite hitter Alyssa Solomon, who suffered an ankle injury in their game against Indonesia yesterday.
In set 3, Alas Pilipinas squandered a big lead after they were ahead, 19-11. But Iran forced them to the wall as they extended the set, 24-all, after another attack error from Canino.
Canino and Eya Laure, however, scored in the two succeeding rallies to save Alas and give them the 2-1 lead.
Meanwhile, it was another comeback denied in set 4, this time for Alas Pilipinas, after they saved a set point and got within one, 23-24, following a Canino attack.
But Fatameh Khalili finished the job off for Iran to force the deciding fifth set, where the Iranians dictated the pace early.
Canino led Alas in the losing effort with 20 points, while Laure added 16 markers. Dell Palomata was the other Alas player in double digits with 10 points, built off of seven attacks and three blocks.
Khalil led Iran’s cavalry with 21 points, while Zahra finished with 12 points with six blocks to her name.
Alas plays next against New Zealand on Wednesday, June 11, where the Philippines will hopefully fight for positioning in Pool B and qualify to the semifinals.