ALAS Pilipinas will now turn to the classification stage for a chance to salvage their Asian Games campaign, starting with a matchup against Qatar on Sunday.
The Philippines was unable to advance from Pool B after dropping both of its matches, falling to China in a sweep before putting up a stronger fight against Kazakhstan in a four-set defeat.
READ: Alas runs out of gas vs Kazakhstan, drops out of Asiad contention
Qatar, for its part, heads into classification after an even tougher group-stage run.
The Qatari side went winless in Pool D, suffering straight-set losses to Korea, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. It was held to single-digit scores in seven of the nine sets it played, underscoring the challenge it has faced against stronger squads.
The winner between Alas and Qatar advances to Monday’s penultimate classification stage, where Mongolia awaits.
Mongolia finished third in Pool C with a 1-2 record, its lone victory coming in a straight-set win over Kyrgyzstan. It was swept by Thailand and Chinese Taipei in its other two matches.
Fall from grace
With a quarterfinal berth already out of reach, the Philippines is now playing for position in the lower half of the standings.
The Filipinas are assured to go lower than their eighth-place showing in Jakarta in 2018.
The immediate objective is to first clear the Qatari hurdle on Sunday, earn another match against Mongolia, and keep ninth-place within reach.
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