AVC: Alas Pilipinas complete Pool A sweep with rout of Chinese Taipei

Alas Pilipinas pulled off an emphatic sweep of Pool A in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup after belting Chinese Taipei with a straight-set whipping, 25-13, 25-21, 25-18, at the jam-packed Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila Sunday night, May 26.

The Philippines left a trail of four consecutive victories to emerge unbeaten in the group phase. 

The Filipinas now aim to carry over momentum into the semifinals against Pool B’s second-seed Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. 

Coming off a monumental rout of Iran a day ago, Alas once again shuffled its deck of aces, opting to start Faith Nisperos and the well-rested Eya Laure in place of Angel Canino and Sisi Rondina. 

And once again, team captain and decorated setter Jia De Guzman made sure to keep the offense humming.

The Filipinas shook off a brief slow start before turning an 8-all stalemate into a 23-13 spread, courtesy of a Vanie Gandler hit. Eya Laure then converted on an attack before Chinese Taipei surrendered the opening salvo with a costly error.

Chinese Taipei fought with a sense of urgency in the second frame, keeping in step with the Philippines to forge a deadlock at 14. However, the trio of Gandler, Nisperos, and Laure took turns dealing damage to give Alas a 23-19 lead.

Thea Gagate then roofed Hsu Heng-Yun’s backrow attempt for a set point. Chinese Taipei managed to salvage two consecutive points, but Hsu Fang-Min’s attack sailed wide.

Come the third set, the Filipinas sprinted to a 23-15 separation before Gandler hammered a clutch down-the-line hit. Chinese Taipei tried to pump life into its comeback bid after saving three-straight match points, but Laure detonated from the backrow to seal the deal.

Laure spearheaded the charge with 15 points built on 12 attacks, two aces, and a block, while Gandler continued to shine with 12 markers, all but one coming from spikes.

Gagate made her presence felt above the net with three blocks on her way to nine points, as Nisperos, Nunag, and De Guzman pitched in eight, four, and three markers.

Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, ended the preliminaries without a win in four outings.

Fang-Min paced the losing side with nine points, while Heng-Yun managed eight.