MANILA – The Philippine women’s volleyball team ended their 2023 Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup for Women campaign on a winning note after a 25-14, 13-25, 25-18, 25-18 beating of Uzbekistan on Sunday in Java, Indonesia.
Faith Nisperos spearheaded the offense for the national squad with 17 points, while Ilongga Ma. Shaya Adorador continued her strong showing in the week-long competition with 13 markers.
Ilongga Aiza Maizo-Pontillas also put up decent supporting numbers for the Jorge Edson Souza de Brito-mentored crew while setter Djanel Cheng and middle blocker Ezra Madrigal also made their presence felt against the Uzbeks.
The Philippine squad showed their dominance in the opening set as they jumped to a double-digit lead en route to a 25-14 win but the Uzbeks responded with a strong second set for a 25-13 win and tied the set score at 1-1.
Nisperos and Adorador, however, came alive in the third set as they duplicated their strong opening in the first frame before they prevented the late rally of Uzbekistan to take a 2-1 set lead.
Both teams engaged in a tight exchange in the fourth frame with the Philippines clinging to a slim 15-13 advantage before they went on a 7-2 scoring rampage for a 22-15 separation.
The Philippines peaked with an 8-point gap, 24-16, off consecutive kills by Maizo-Pontillas and Erika Raagas. The Uzbeks saved two match points but a quick attack by Madrigal clinched the win for the Pinay Spikers.
The national women’s volleyball team have won three games overall in the weeklong tournament but suffered three crucial defeats, including a four-setter against Australia that booted them out of medal contention.
The victories of the Philippine women’s volleyball squad is also enough to propel them to 57th place in the latest world rankings released by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
Among Southeast Asian countries, Team Philippines’ 57th rank was good for third place behind Thailand (15th) and Vietnam (52nd) while it was also good for ninth place among Asian countries./PN
