Alas Pilipinas did not need five sets to make its point against Mongolia. Three were enough, although the last one came with a little unwanted drama.
The Philippines swept Mongolia, 25-13, 25-11, 25-20, on Monday in the women’s volleyball classification round of the Asian Games in Japan, following up Sunday’s rout of Qatar and setting up a Tuesday showdown with Hong Kong for ninth place.
Angel Canino led the Filipinas with 12 points, built on 11 attacks and a block, while Bella Belen added 10 and Alyssa Solomon nine.
For two sets, Mongolia looked less like an opponent than a team waiting for the bus. Alas controlled the tempo, attacked efficiently, and kept the scoreboard moving in one direction.
Then came the third set, when Mongolia apparently decided the afternoon still had some volleyball left in it.
The Mongolians trimmed the deficit to four, 21-17, after a service error by Mars Alba, briefly making Alas work for what had looked like an inevitable finish.
The Filipinas answered with a 3-2 burst, capped by a Belen attack that produced match point at 24-19. Mongolia saved one through an Enkhkhuslen Purevsuren attack, but Alas promptly closed the door. Adamson University standout Shaina Nitura came soaring from the left wing to deliver the final point.
The numbers explained much of the difference. Alas scored 75 total points to Mongolia’s 44, including a 45-28 edge in spikes and a 7-3 advantage in blocks. The Filipinas also won the battle at the service line, 7-2 in serve points.
Now comes Hong Kong, with ninth place at stake.
That may sound modest beside Philippine volleyball’s Asian Games history. The women’s team’s best finishes remain fourth place, achieved at the 1962 Jakarta Games and repeated at the 1966 Bangkok Games.
So Tuesday is not about rewriting that history. It is about adding another line to it, preferably with a win.
