Alas Pilipinas rebounded from their five-set loss to Iran with a thorough drubbing of New Zealand at the AVC Nations Cup.
Alas Pilipinas remained in the running for a semifinals spot at the AVC Nations Cup as they drubbed New Zealand in straight sets, 25-17, 25-21, 25-18, for their third win in four matches in Pool B in Vietnam on Wednesday.
After Iran’s loss to Kazakhstan earlier in four sets, the Philippines regained the second spot in the pool — which will be good enough for a semifinals spot as it stands.
However, they will need a favorable outcome against the Kazakhs themselves to give Alas a fighting chance.
Alyssa Solomon returned to action for coach Jorge de Brito after she was sidelined for a game due to an injury. She earned the starting nod as Cla Loresco also made her national team debut.
Alas took a commanding 2-0 lead after a pivotal 5-1 run at the tail end of the second set where Dell Palomata and Eya Laure scored twice each to lead the Philippines against the Kiwis, who were coming off of a breakthrough victory over Mongolia.
The Filipinas then followed it up with a mid-set rally where Alas scored six straight points to overturn an 11-13 deficit into a 17-13 lead which they did not relinquish.
Solomon was among three Alas players in twin-digit scoring with 11 points, while Vanie Gandler and Laure finished with 12 markers each.
The debuting Loresco had five points which included four blocks. Fifi Sharma also manned the net with an identical stat line with the FEU middle blocker.
Charlton Vail and Petra Manderson paced New Zealand in the losing effort with 11 and nine points, respectively.
Alas thus improved to 3-1 and put themselves in prime position to move on to the next round, that is, if they are able to win against Kazakhstan.
At the moment, Alas is ahead by three points, 10-7, against Iran, despite their identical 3-1 records. This is due to the five setters that Iran has gone through.
If they lose against the Kazakhs, Alas must hope for an Iran loss to Mongolia and lean on superior points and set ratio to propel themselves into the next round.
The Philippines faces a quick turnaround as they play again Thursday morning, 11am, Manila time.