ALAS Pilipinas faltered late against a gutsy Iran side and dropped a 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15 defeat in Pool B action at the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup on Monday in Hanoi, Vietnam.
READ: Alas must beat Kazakhstan, NZ to have shot at Nations Cup semis
The nationals failed to put away the Iranians in the fourth set and paid a heavy price in the decider, suffering their first loss in the six-team bracket after resounding victories against Mongolia and Indonesia.
Iran and Kazakhstan now lead the pool on 3-0 (win-loss) records, with Alas right behind at 2-1. The top two finishers advance to the playoffs.
Angel Canino put up her best performance yet in the tournament with 20 points and 11 digs as a converted opposite hitter in Alyssa Solomon's absence after spraining her left ankle in their second game against Indonesia.
However, Canino was also at fault for the last two attack errors from 13-all in the fifth set that handed Iran the win.
Eya Laure and Dell Palomata stepped up on defense with three blocks each to cap their 16-point and 10-point outings that both went for naught.
Less than a day since being drafted first overall by Capital1 in the PVL, Bella Belen's reliability on both offense and floor defense was a silver lining for Alas as she dished out eight points, 16 digs and 11 receptions.
Victory slips away from Alas
The nationals pulled away early in the opening frame, winning by a distant nine-point margin before things turned south.
Iran snatched a second set that had the Philippines lead for the most part. It was nearly the same case in Set 3 upon erasing an 11-19 deficit.
The Laure-Canino duo got their hands dirty to save the nationals in the third frame before running out of gas in the last two sets to yield their first loss of the competition.
A win over Iran would've put the Philippines in pole position to secure a semifinals spot by as early as its next game against New Zealand on Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Instead, the nationals' penultimate pool play match becomes a must-win contest to avoid falling into a deeper hole that could relegate them to the classification phase if they fail to grab one of two semis tickets in Pool B.
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