Alas Pilipinas in action against Iran in the AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup, June 9, 2025 in Hanoi, Vietnam. AVC photo
MANILA -- Alas Pilipinas is in a must-win situation when they play New Zealand in the AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup in Hanoi on Wednesday.
This, after their heartbreaking five-set loss to Iran on Monday that dropped their record to 2-1.
The Philippines now has to beat New Zealand on Wednesday and Kazakhstan on Thursday to stay alive for the semifinals of the 11-nation competition.
La Salle star Angel Canino made it clear that they are not losing hope despite squandering a 2-1 set advantage against Iran in their game on Monday night.
READ: Alas Pilipinas falls prey to rallying Iran in 5 sets
"Ate Jia [Morado-de Guzman, team captain] keeps our spirits up," Canino said during Tuesday’s tournament rest day. "She told us that we have more matches coming up and that we keep our chins up—we fight to the end."
The Philippines-New Zealand match is set at 4 p.m. (Manila time) at the Dong Anh Arena in Vietnam’s capital.
"Whatever outcome we had in this tournament, we’ve continued to learn and improve," added Canino.
Kazakhstan and Iran are 3-0 in Pool B, with Indonesia and Mongolia down at 0-3, while host Vietnam leads Pool A with a 2-0 card, followed by Chinese-Taipei with 2-1, Australia 1-1, Hong Kong 1-2 and India 0-2.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals.
Head coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito said following the loss to Iran that they "still have a chance."
"We will fight for this and be ready for New Zealand and Kazakhstan," he said. "The mindset is still the same, it's always fight hard because the result will come if you keep on playing hard."
Canino scored 21 points on 17 kills, two blocks and two aces against Iran, while Eya Laure had 16 points built on 12 kills, three blocks. Alas Pilipinas played without National University ace Alyssa Solomon, who sprained her left ankle in last Sunday's win over Indonesia.