ALAS Pilipinas suffered its first loss at the hands of Iran, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15, on Monday and found itself in a must-win situation to stay in contention for the semifinals of the AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup.
The team’s Brazilian head coach, Jorge Edson Souza de Brito, said the Alas Pilipinas ladies gave their best but the Iranians just played better in the seesaw match at the Dong Anh Arena in Hanoi.
READ: Alas Pilipinas suffers first loss in Hanoi at the hands of Iran
“We had the chance to lead in the fifth set but it's the game — they played good [and] they deserved the win,” he said. “My players did their best as they can.”
With a 2-1 won-lost record, the world No. 47 Alas Pilipinas must beat higher-ranked teams — No. 29 New Zealand first on Thursday and No. 29 Kazakhstan on Friday in Pool B to have a chance at a place in the semifinals.
“We're going to improve and we still have a chance so we will fight for this and be ready for New Zealand and Kazakhstan,” de Brito said. “The mindset is still the same, it's always fight hard because the result will come if you keep on playing hard.”
Kazakhstan is unbeaten in three matches with New Zealand still 0-2 following defeats to the Kazakhs and Iranians.
“For tomorrow, we just take a little rest and prepare for New Zealand and then go to Kazakhstan,” added de Brito.
Angel Canino led the nationals with 21 points on 17 kills, two blocks and two aces, while Eya Laure had 16 points built on 12 kills, three blocks and an ace.
Alas Pilipinas missed Alyssa Solomon, who sprained her left ankle in Sunday’s win over Indonesia.
“Tough match,” Canino said. “But we learned a lot from this loss and this will help us grow as a team and as individuals.”
Chermahini had 21 points, Masi Tabaghdehi finished with 16 and Zahra Salehi, whose block on Canino decided the result, made 12 points for Iran which improved to 3-0, the same record as Kazakhstan, a 25-17, 25-12, 26-24 winner over Indonesia also on Monday.
Only the top two teams from each of the two pools will advance to the semifinals.
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