MANILA – Alas Pilipinas continued its dominant showing in the AVC Challenge Cup for Women with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-18 rout of Chinese Taipei on Sunday evening at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Ejiya “Eya” Laure returned from a one-day rest to tally 15 points, including 12 attacks, two service aces, and a block, as Alas Pilipinas finished their Pool A assignment with a perfect 4-0 record.
Vanessa Gandler added 12 markers, while Thea Gagate and Faith Nisperos had nine and eight, respectively, for Alas Pilipinas, which pulled off the win despite the absence of Negrense Angel Canino, Cherry Rondina, and Mereophe Sharma due to rest.
“Of course, this win is dedicated to our fans, our hard work is for them,” Laure said during her Player of the Game interview. “We are already here (in the semis), we won’t stop making history for the country.”
Alas Pilipinas surged to a 3-0 start in the opening set, but Chinese Taipei managed to keep in step to cut the deficit to 7-8. Team Philippines responded with a 17-5 finishing run to easily take a 1-0 set edge.
Team Philippines continued their aggression in the second set as they built a 13-8 lead, but Chinese Taipei responded with their own run to rally to within 14-16. Alas Pilipinas leaned on the exploits of Gagate to close the set.
Alas Pilipinas opened the third set strong as they jumped to a 16-6 advantage, but Chinese Taipei went on a mini-run to cut the deficit to 9-16. The visitors still threatened within 18–24 before Laure ended the match with a booming hit.
“Siyempre, komportable (naman) kami sa isa’t isa kahit na maikli pa lang ‘yung time namin na magkakasama,” said Laure, who was rested by head coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito during their Saturday’s win against Iran.
“Kapag dumating ‘yung time na humaba ‘yung pagsasama namin mas magiging matibay ‘yung chemistry namin. ‘Yung nakikita niyo ngayon, kaya pa naming mas higitan ‘yun,” she added.
Alas Pilipinas, which finished Pool A on top, is to face Pool B No. 2 ranked squad Kazakhstan in knockout semifinals match tonight, while Australia will battle defending champion Vietnam in the other Final Four game./PN
