THE medal streak is over, as Alas Pilipinas saw its hopes of a third straight AVC Women's Cup podium came crashing down after bowing to Chinese Taipei, 16-25, 14-25, 10-25, in its final Pool A match on Thursday at the Candon City Arena.
The defeat dropped the Nationals to 2-3 and formally eliminated them from semifinal contention, a bitter outcome for a program that had steadily risen from a bronze-medal finish in 2024 to a silver-medal breakthrough just a year ago.
With Chinese Taipei and Korea both unbeaten and firmly entrenched atop Pool A, the Filipinos no longer have a mathematical path to overtake either side.
Both teams can no longer finish with more than two losses, leaving the Philippines out of the running regardless of remaining results.
Alyssa Solomon scored six points off the bench, with Niña Ytang and Ces Molina adding three each in the loss.
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Long before first serve in Candon City, Alas was already navigating turbulence, as player withdrawals disrupted plans, leadership questions lingered in the background, and the eventual roster came together under less-than-ideal circumstances, as the program scrambled to assemble a competitive squad for this home tournament.
End of the road
While the Filipinos managed impressive victories over Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, damaging defeats to Australia and Korea left little room for error entering its showdown with Chinese Taipei.
Instead of delivering a season-saving result, the Nationals found themselves overmatched by another East Asian powerhouse determined to secure its own semis berth.
Whether viewed through the lens of roster instability, preparation challenges, or the growing pains of a national team still searching for continuity, the result underscored just how difficult it is to sustain success on the continental stage.
The Philippines still has one last classification match to play, but its pursuit of another podium finish has now come to an end.
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