Japan pins 2nd loss on Philippines in Asian U23 volleyball

Powerhouse Japan gave the Philippines a quick lesson in efficiency and precision with a swift and merciless 25-12, 25-18, 25-15 victory Monday night at the start of second round of the Asian Women’s Under 23 Championship at Philsports Arena.

The Japanese flashed superior skills in every department, picking apart the Filipinos with their superb play at the net to roll to their third straight win in the tournament.

The awe-struck Filipinos had difficulty coping with the Japanese juggernaut, struggling with their reception game early on. Errors continued to bedevil the Filipinos as they committed 27 miscues, 17 more than Japan’s total.

“The girls were more excited playing Japan,” said PH coach Roger Gorayeb after the game watched by 5,500 fans. “These are young players and inexperienced and they got too excited.”

Earlier, Liu Hanyan fired a tournament-high 37 points to power China past South Korea, 24-26, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-8 and gain top spot in Pool F.

Alyssa Valdez led all scorers with 15 points, but the PH skipper also admitted getting overwhelmed at the thought of playing Japan.

“It’s an honor to play them,” said Valdez. “They are tall and fast and we learned a lot.”

The victory gave the Japanese pole position in Pool E, ahead of Chinese-Taipei, which pummeled Iran, 25-17, 25-21, 25-17, earlier.

But while the Filipinos won’t be eliminated after the second round, another loss to Chinese Taipei Tuesday night would mean facing either China or Thailand in the knockout quarterfinals.

Originally posted: 6:24 PM | Monday, May 4th, 2015