MANILA – In its second straight loss in the 18th Asian Games, the Philippine women’s volleyball team was swept by Japan 12-25, 15-25, 21-25 Tuesday night in Indonesia.
Miku Nagaoka led the Japanese squad with 11 points, on nine spikes and two service aces, while Yurie Nabera added 7 markers.
Jaja Santiago made 6 points for the Filipinas as teammates Alyssa Valdez, Aby Maraño and Myleen Paat combined for 7 points.
The Philippines surged to a 2-0 start in the opening set but Japan answered with 7 straight points for an 8-2 lead. Errors by the Philippines allowed Japan to raise the lead further to its highest at 12.
Continuing its dominance, Japan made an 8-4 start in the second set. With Japan ahead 18-9, the Philippines went on a run behind Valdez and Santiago to come to within 13-20, but the Japanese fired back to take a 2-0 set lead.
Japan started the third set with a 5-2 lead but the Philippines closed in and tied the count 12-all. The Japanese surged 24-19 and the Philippines caught on a bit with a rally to come close 21-24.
The Philippines still has two games in its schedule – against Hong Kong on Thursday afternoon and Indonesia on Saturday night. A win in one of these matches will let the Filipinas advance to the quarterfinals./PN
