ISA TOWN, Bahrain – Alas Pilipinas failed to sustain a rousing start and fell to Iran in four sets as its determined bid for a golden feat in the 3rd Asian Youth Games here came to an end late Monday night.
A huge upset appeared to be in the offing before a packed crowd at the Hall B of the Isa City Sports stadium after the U18 national team clinched the hard-fought opening set, 28-26.
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But the taller and much more experienced Iranians pounced on the error-prone Philippine side to sweep the next three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-19-25-18, to take the second and last berth in the gold-medal match.
The victory set up Iran in the battle for the gold against Indonesia, which stunned previously undefeated Thailand, 26-24, 27-25, 25-17, in the other semis pairing featuring the two powerhouse nations in the Southeast Asian region.
Power-hitting Rhose Almendralejo finished with 25 points to pace Alas Pilipinas, which faces rival Thailand in the battle for the bronze.
Both games are scheduled on Wednesday.
The Thais earlier swept the Filipinas in the preliminaries, 25-21, 25-18, 25-14, but Atasha Doroja remains confident about the team’s shot at winning the bronze.
“Masakit po yung natalo kami. We tried our best, we gave our best sa game pero I think marami pa po kaming kailangang pagtrabahuhan, lapses, which I think maka-clutch naman naming para sa battle for third against Thailand,” she said after the entire team was reduced to tears following the loss.
“Babawi po kami.”
Buoyed by a wildly cheering crowd armed with drums and bugles, Alas surprised the opposition behind a strong first set despite an error-prone game.
Eventually, the lapses caught up with the team.
“We have a lot of errors. Yung ang problema natin,” admitted chef de mission Tats Suzara, who is also president of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.
“Too bad we lost,” added the long-time volleyball leader, who nonetheless thanked the girls for their grit and hardwork. “It’s part of the game. But I thank them that we’re in the Top Four of this tournament.”
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