Alas Pilipinas Women had a promising start before Thailand slowly picked the Philippine team apart for the win in the 5th SEA V.League Leg 1 opener.
Alas Pilipinas Women put up a gallant stand before faltering against defending champion Thailand, 25-17, 24-26, 20-25, 20-25, in the 5th SEA V.League Leg 1 opener Friday, August 1.
The Nationals could not sustain their fiery start as the host team gradually got its bearings to secure the victory to the delight of the crowd in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Alas could have extended the match after closing the gap, 19-20, in the fourth set but stumbled to a pair of errors to allow the Thais to break away for good.
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The Filipina spikers' last miscue came via an attack fault by Leila Cruz, missing the mark by a thread to put the home team at match point, 20-24.
Then, Warisara Seetaloed exploited the scramble on Alas’ defense to seal the match with ease.
Alas’ performance in the last three sets paled in comparison to the opening salvo, where it jumped to a 16-9 lead before taking the set, 25-17.
But a searing rally from the longtime regional powerhouse was only a matter of when.
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That came right at the onset of the second as Thailand battered the Philippines on all fronts to take an early 10-5 lead.
Refusing to fold in the face of the relentless attacks, the Nationals clawed back and even put themselves in a prime position to go 2-0 sets up on Angel Canino’s down-the-line hit, 24-23.
But Alas completely wasted that set point in the second frame after back-to-back attack errors by Alyssa Solomon.
Thailand managed to keep Alas at bay from there.
Alas will try to rise from this setback when it faces Vietnam Saturday, August 2.
Game time is at 2:30 p.m.