ALAS Pilipinas Girls broke new ground on the biggest stage of their international journey, claiming the Philippines’ first-ever victory in the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship over Mexico, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, on Friday in San Felipe, Chile.
The young Nationals bounced back from their opening-day loss to defending champion China to earn the breakthrough in just their second match of the group stage.
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The historic win also made the U17 squad only the second Philippine national team to win a match in an FIVB World Championship event, following Alas Men's upset of Egypt on home soil last year.
La Salle-bound winger Caera Celis spearheaded the historic effort with 24 points on 22 attacks, a block, and an ace, while Xyz Rayco added 15 points on 12 attacks, two aces, and a block. Jhaynna Bulandres chipped in 10 points, including seven attacks and three aces.
Madele Gale anchored the net defense with five of Alas Girls’ eight blocks, as they improved to 1-1 in Pool B.
Coach Edwin Leyva and his staff also made a crucial adjustment after the China loss, deploying wing spiker Nadeth Herbon at libero to stabilize the floor defense. Frances Ramos shared defensive duties, while Taj Tevez moved to the offensive side of the rotation.
For team manager Karl Chan, the breakthrough win showed the progress of the young program.
“We’re not looking too far ahead, but this win shows that the program works, and the girls have shown they can hold their own on the world stage,” Chan said.
The Philippines is now tied with Mexico, Venezuela, and Peru at 1-1 in Pool B, behind unbeaten China at 2-0. Tunisia is 0-2.
The Filipinas face Tunisia on Saturday, Peru on Monday, and Venezuela on Tuesday to close out the group stage, with the top four teams advancing to the next round.
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