TONIGHT, Philippine volleyball took one step closer to its own ‘Miracle in Hanoi.’
Alas Pilipinas Women regrouped just in time to reach the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup final with a pulsating 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 15-12 win over Chinese-Taipei in the knockout semifinals on Friday at the Dong Anh Gymnasium in Hanoi.
READ: Vietnam on track for Nations Cup three-peat
Bella Belen's 14-point, 19-reception and 16-dig triple-double helped the Philippines hold its ground and take the long way round en route to a much harder repeat win over Chinese-Taipei - the same team it beat in last year's Challenge Cup pool play finale in Manila.
Angel Canino, Alas' leading scorer in the tournament, chalked up nine points, nine receptions and seven digs performance behind Alyssa Solomon's 12-piece as the Filipinas got a shot at host and two-time champion Vietnam in the final.
With its fifth win in six games since pool play, the Philippines is all set for a historic first gold-medal match in an AVC-sanctioned indoor competition — men or women — since the national volleyball federation’s inception 64 years ago.
It also becomes a golden opportunity for Alas Women to replicate the Azkals’ historic 2-0 breakthrough win over Vietnam in Hanoi, roughly 20 kilometers away from the My Dinh National Stadium where Philippine football’s renaissance in the 2010s began.
As it is, the nationals are already assured of their 19th podium finish in international play regardless of how their title game against the host nation pans out.
Fifi Sharma was also a revelation for the nationals in the opening stretch of the match with 10 points on five attacks, three blocks and two aces. But disaster nearly struck the nationals as they squandered a two sets to none advantage.
The Philippines were outscored (98 to 100) and even trailed in attacks (52 to 69) in the match, but Chinese-Taipei yielding 11 more errors than the nationals proved to be a costly turning point in favor of the nationals in the endgame.
History beckons Alas
Chinese-Taipei breathed new life into its fading finals bid in Sets 3 and 4 where it managed to out-attack Alas’ star-studded frontline. The red shirts even led by as much as 11 in the fourth frame, leaving the Philippines shell-shocked ahead of an unlikely fifth-set tiebreak.
Leading their foiled comeback bid was opposite hitter Chen Chieh, who was part of the KingWhale Taipei side that won silver in the 2022 PVL Invtiational Conference.
Like Belen, Chen posted a triple-double of 19 points, 15 receptions and 13 digs.
In the fifth-set tiebreak, Alas head coach Jorge Souza de Brito's late roll of the dice paid off as Eya Laure unleashed six of her nine points off the bench.
With history for the country on the line, Alas carried an immeasurable weight on their chests and fought back from an early 3-5 deficit for one of the most important victories yet in all of Philippine volleyball.
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