MANILA — Alas Pilipinas Women salvaged a strong finish to their 2026 Asian Games campaign, overpowering Hong Kong, China in straight sets, 25-21, 25-9, 30-28, on Tuesday at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan to secure ninth place in the women’s volleyball competition.
Mhicaela Belen spearheaded the Philippine attack with 18 points, while Angel Canino delivered 17 and Alyssa Solomon chipped in 11 as Alas Pilipinas closed its classification-round campaign with a convincing victory.
“Actually, happy kami. Although hindi ‘yun yung gusto naming overall goal sa Asian Games, happy kami sa lahat ng wins namin… ‘yung mga nagawa namin as a team and, of course, ‘yung learning experience,” said Canino.
The Filipinas dictated the tempo in the opening two sets, overcoming Hong Kong’s attempts to rally in the first frame before completely dominating the second, 25-9, to move within a set of the victory.
Hong Kong refused to go quietly, however, forcing Alas Pilipinas into an extended battle in the third set.
The Filipinas held their nerve in the tense closing exchanges, eventually squeezing out a 30-28 victory to complete the sweep and end their Asian Games stint on a positive note.
Despite falling short of their bigger ambitions in Nagoya, the young Alas Pilipinas squad viewed the continental competition as a valuable gauge of the level it must reach against Asia’s stronger teams.
“Iba. Iba talaga yung laruan. Ang dami naming napulot, lalo na sa amin mga bata,” said Belen. “Alam namin na meron pang dapat itaas. Taas pa namin ‘yung level of playing namin.”
“Actually, I think we have improvements… we have a lot to gain, experience. We became better team,” added the Capital1 Solar Energy Solar Spikers star.
Hong Kong was paced by Lam Shum with 13 points, while Wing Lam Chim and Wing Ni Yim finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The victory officially gave the Philippines ninth place in the Asian Games women’s volleyball tournament./PN
