Alas Pilipinas at the AVC Women's Nations Cup 2025 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo from Asian Volleyball Confederation
The Philippines put up a gallant stand against Vietnam but fell in straight sets, 15-25, 17-25, 14-25, taking the silver medal at the 2025 AVC Women's Nations Cup on Saturday in Hanoi.
But by reaching the final, Alas Pilipinas Women proved that they can now compete with the best women's volleyball teams in Asia.
This breakthrough placement marked the best finish by the Philippines in an Asian-level competition in 64 years, surpassing the already-historic bronze medal in the Manila-hosted AVC Women's Challenge Cup last year.
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En route to the championship round, the Nationals emphatically stamped their class, overcoming solid teams at the continental level such as Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, Kazakhstan in pool play as well as New Zealand, Indonesia, and Mongolia.
It wasn't all rainbows during the pre-championship matches as the squad also absorbed a five-set heartbreak against Iran.
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The players of Alas Pilipinas can hold their heads high despite losing to Vietnam — a regional powerhouse that has ruled the past two iterations of the tournament.
Alas Women could not recover from a huge 9-18 deficit midway through the opener, succumbing to the dominant hosts who flexed their attacking prowesses and airtight floor defense, led by Thi Thanh Thuy Tran who already nailed 10 points (8 attacks, 1 block, 1 ace, 4 digs) in that frame alone.
Alyssa Solomon tried injecting life into Alas' offense in Set 1, firing four points which all came from attacks.
Alas kept it close in the succeeding frame and even made it into a one-point, 14-13 ballgame but the Vietnamese slowly pulled away, unleashing seven unanswered points sparked by a Thi Bich Tuyen Nguyen attack, and then concluded by Thuy Tran Thi Bich's spike for a 21-13 spread.
Philippines saved two set points after a Vietnam error and Thea Gagate kill block, but the lead was to far to chase as Thi Kim Thoa Vo finished it with a surprise hit in the middle for a 2-0 lead.
After Angel Canino hit one from the backrow to put Alas by a hanging thread in Set 3, 6-5, unfortunate errors from her and Shaina Nitura contributed to the surge of Vietnam, followed through by Thi Uyen Nguyen's attack point for an early 9-5 lead.
The Philippines came as close as five, 15-10, after a Nitura sharp spike, but the visiting squad could not stop the hard-hitting Vietnamese as they eventually successfully defend home turf.
From the 20-14 mark, it was all Vietnam, as Thi Thanh Thuy Tran and Thi Bich Tuyen Nguyen made up for the finishing touches built on a 5-0 closing efforts.
No Alas player breached double-digit territory, with Solomon registering eight attack points, and Nitura contributing six markers which also all came from spikes.
Fifi Sharma and Canino had four points each. Laure had three points, eight excellent receptions and three digs, while Bella Belen was held to one attack point on 11 attempts.
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