ALAS Pilipinas had no answers against mighty Thailand, absorbing an 11–25, 17–25, 16–25 defeat to open its group-stage campaign in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Thursday at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok.
Alyssa Solomon and Angel Canino paced a lowly debut for the Nationals with nine and eight points, respectively.
The Philippines has now dropped five straight SEA Games meetings against Thailand, dating back to the 2017 edition in Malaysia, with all of those matches ending in straight-set victories for the 14-peat champions.
Alas enters a must-win match on Friday against Singapore at 6:30 p.m. Manila time, with the last semifinals ticket on the line.
A loss would relegate either of the two winless squads to the classification phase of the tournament.
"The first match in this SEA Games is not the way we expected, but we have a lot to deliver for the country, still," said Alas head coach Jorge Souza de Brito.
Ruthless Thai takeover
The Philippines was left in the dust from the opening whistle, surrendering an early 6–1 blitz before the Thais slammed the door with a commanding 15–4 finishing run to take the first set with hardly any resistance.
The second frame offered a more competitive stretch, thanks largely to a flurry of Thailand miscues, particularly from the service area, that gifted Alas eight free points and kept them within striking distance.
The Philippines even wrested a brief 17–16 advantage after a Solomon kill followed by an attack error from Thai veteran Ajcharaporn Kongyot.
Just as the momentum seemed to tilt toward the visitors, however, the Thais responded with a ruthless nine-point barrage, leaving the Filipinos stunned and abruptly halting their best rhythm of the night.
Alas showed brighter flashes in the third set, with Solomon and Canino teaming up to ignite a late rally.
But as had been the story all evening, every push was met with an even stronger counter from a Thai squad that simply operated on a different gear, ultimately rendering the Nationals’ comeback bid futile against the reigning long-reigning regional queens.
All but Eya Laure saw action for Alas Women, with captain Jia de Guzman and Bella Belen pacing the team behind Solomon and Canino with three points each.
SEA Games debutant Shaina Nitura, along with middle blockers Dell Palomata and Amie Provido, contributed two points apiece while Maddie Madayag and Vanie Gandler added one marker each.
Thailand relied on their formidable trio up front, led by Pimpichaya Kokram with 14 points as Chatchu-on Moksri and Sasipapron Janthawisut chipped in 11 points apiece.
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