MANILA — Alas Pilipinas Women were pushed into a must-win situation against Kazakhstan after defending champion China dealt the Filipinas a 25-18, 25-22, 25-8 straight-sets defeat in their opening match of the 2026 Asian Games women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Okazaki Central Park Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan.
With only three teams in Pool B, the Philippines must bounce back against Kazakhstan on September 17 to strengthen its bid for a quarterfinal berth following the opening-day setback.
Alas showed its strongest resistance in the second set, battling world No. 7 China to a 20-all deadlock before the defending champions regained control behind spiker Xin Tang and closed out the frame for a commanding 2-0 advantage.
The Filipinas, however, could not sustain the pressure in the third set.
China raced to an 11-3 lead before stretching the gap to 20-5 as the Philippine attackers struggled to break through the Chinese defense.
The defending champions maintained their relentless pressure the rest of the way, limiting Alas to just eight points in the final frame to complete the sweep and open their title defense on a dominant note.
Angel Canino spearheaded the Philippine offense with 14 points, while Eya Laure contributed 10 and Alyssa Solomon chipped in nine.
Thea Gagate added three points, while team captain Jia De Guzman tallied 13 excellent sets in the losing effort.
Despite the defeat, the Philippines remains in contention for a quarterfinal spot, making its Pool B showdown with Kazakhstan a crucial test of its Asian Games campaign./PN
