STRONG Group-Pilipinas ended its Taiwan side trip with a silver medal after Japan’s Aleeza Aichi proved much too fast to handle in the 2026 Formosa Women's Volleyball Invitational Tournament championship game.
The SGA selection fell in straight sets, 17-25, 19-25, 15-25, on Sunday to finish second in the short invitational stint.
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Even Japanese head coach Koji Tsuzurabara could not concoct a winning formula against the young club from his home country, with Aleeza Aichi using its youthful agility to run speedy plays and attacks that SGA simply could not match.
The runner-up finish closed out a three-match overseas debut stint for the SGA selection, composed mainly of players from Farm Fresh and ZUS Coffee.
Strong Group survived a three-way tie in Pool B at 1-1 through a superior set ratio over Thailand’s Supreme TIP Chonburi-E.Tech and Chinese-Taipei side Earth Power EPV.
SGA then swept Earth Power, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24, to reach the final before meeting its match against the Japanese club.
The short-lived Strong Group selection will now disperse back into Farm Fresh and ZUS Coffee, with the Foxies and Thunderbelles returning to their regular PVL duties for the remainder of the On Tour over the next three weeks.
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