Alas Pilipinas, led by team captain and setter Jia Morado-de Guzman, kept springing surprises at the latest edition of AVC Challenge Cup, and none so far finer than the straight sets trouncing of the much taller team from Iran on Saturday night at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The victory over Iran secured for Alas Pilipinas the top spot in Pool A and a slot in the semifinals even with the game against winless Chinese Taipei still to be played late Sunday. The Philippine team had earlier won against the teams from Australia and India. The Australian team also beat India, cementing its spot in the semifinals.
In Pool B, defending champion Vietnam continued to stamp its class in the tournament, easily disposing of Singapore, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan to grab one of the semifinals tickets even before playing its last game against Indonesia.
Kazakhstan booked second spot in Pool B and will meet the Philippines in the semifinals match set at 4 p.m. on May 28. Vietnam and Australia will play in the other semifinals tussle set at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The championship game will be played Wednesday, May 29.
Morado-de Guzman, captain of the Ateneo University volleyball team during UAAP Season 79 and fresh from her campaign as Asian import of Denso Airybees in the Japan V. League, has been superb in this Challenge Cup, setting the table for a combination of veteran and young hitters led by the high-flying Sisi Rondina, defending at the net and herself scoring with intelligently-disguised attacks.
Even before the AVC Challenge Cup—part of Alas Pilipinas’ preparation for the Southeast Asian Games next year, Morado-de Guzman has underscored the lack of time for the team to practice together as its main handicap going against other Asian teams who had been playing together for a longer period. With that mindset, Morado-de Guzman told an interview with One Sports that Alas Pilipinas players aren’t putting any pressure on themselves.
And that probably explains how relaxed the team has played in its first three games, with the ladies dancing, slapping high fives and hugging to celebrate every point. They were quick in correcting errors in the initial sets of the games against Australia and India, winning the next three sets to stay unbeaten in Pool A ahead of Sunday’s game.
At last year’s AVC Challenge Cup, the Philippines finished in 7th place. It was assured participation in this tournament by virtue of the Philippines being the host country.
