The Alas Pilipinas U16 squad bowed out of the contention in the AVC Asian Women's U16 Volleyball Championship against Chinese Taipei. But the Philippine team still has plenty of competition to go against Thailand and for the classification rounds.
Alas Pilipinas’ spirited run in the 2nd Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship came to an end, bowing out of title contention to a powerhouse Chinese Taipei side, 14-25, 21-25, 15-25, in the Final Eight round on Wednesday at the Prince Hamzah Sports Hall in Amman, Jordan.
Team captain Xyz Rayco once again led the young Filipinas’ offense, finishing with 12 points—all from attacks.
She ignited the team’s second-set rally that saw them take a 17-12 lead, but the Philippines could not sustain the momentum and was dominated by Chinese Taipei, as top scorer Chen Ting-Yi, who was limited to four in the first two sets, caught fire in the third and finish with 12 points.
“It’s a bit disappointing because we really prepared for this game, but it didn’t turn out the way we hoped,” said Rayco. “Still, we’re grateful because we gave our best despite what happened.”
After a lopsided first set where Chinese Taipei scored seven of its 10 aces, Alas Pilipinas started strong in the second with a 4-0 lead before Rayco stretched it to 17-12.
However, the Taiwanese clawed back with a 6-0 run, capped by Chan Tzu-Yun’s kill, to reclaim control.
Despite the Philippines briefly regaining the lead, Chinese Taipei closed the set with Chan and Chang Yun-Chen putting on the finishing touches to take a two-set lead.
“The team’s energy kind of died down,” said Alas coach Edwin Leyva. “I told them that volleyball is a game of emotion and momentum. When we’re happy and communicating, that’s when we play our best. Unfortunately, our energy dropped during crucial points. Some of the younger players were also dealing with minor aches, but overall, they performed really well. We just came up short.”
Chan and Chang Yun-Chen carried the scoring load for the Taiwanese with 18 and 17 points, respectively, as Chinese Taipei improved to 2-0 in Pool F, joining Japan—which swept Thailand earlier, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19—as the two semifinalists.
Both teams also secured spots in next year’s FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship in Chile as Final Four finishers in the Asian U16 tournament.
Composed mostly of first-time national team players from various provinces, the young Alas Pilipinas squad had earlier earned its Final Eight berth after sweeping Iran and carried over one loss from its earlier four-set defeat to defending champion Japan.
Nadeth Herbon added 11 points, while setter Resty Jane Olaguir chipped in four, while running the plays. Libero Frances Ramos anchored the defense with 15 digs.
The Philippines will wrap up its Final Eight campaign against Thailand at 4 p.m. (Philippine time) on Thursday before moving on to the classification round for 5th to 8th places.