A spirited fight in set 2 went for naught for Alas Pilipinas, dampening their spirits against Chinese Taipei and missing out on the bronze medal finish in the VTV Cup.
Alas Pilipinas missed out on a podium finish in the VTV Cup 2025, after they fell in straight sets against a revenge-seeking Chinese Taipei side, 17-25, 24-26, 22-25, in the Battle for Bronze match in Vietnam on Saturday night.
Alas, who had beaten Chinese Taipei in the semifinals of the AVC Nations Cup last month, fell victim a flat start that saw their foes seize early control in the match. Even as Brooke Van Sickle and Eya Laure tried to keep the Philippines afloat in the opening set, they cruised to victory in the opener.
In set 2, the Philippines clawed back from a 19-22 deficit late with a 4-0 run punctuated by a Van Sickle attack to take the advantage, 23-22.
But Chinese Taipei would not falter so easily, scoring back-to-back points to be the first to set point, 24-23. While Van Sickle uncorked one more point to tie at 24-all, Chinese Taipei scored on a down the line hit and a block against Vanie Gandler to seal the 2-0 advantage.
Then in set 3, Alas tried to pump life back into their podium hopes as they played catch up from the get-go—including a service error from Van Sickle that tied the set at 22-all. The error jumpstarted a 4-0 run that doomed
Alas. Adding insult to injury was that it was an attack error from Gandler that shut the door on the Philippines at match point.
The Philippines thus failed to replicate Choco Mucho’s bronze medal finish back in 2023—the only time that the country finished in the top three of the tournament.
Alas Pilipinas will continue its build-up for the Southeast Asian Games with the SEA V.League.