Alas Pilipinas players celebrate after being Australia again to claim the bronze medal in the AVC Challenge Cup 2024. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Alas Pilipinas completed its historic AVC Challenge Cup campaign by bringing home the country’s first-ever bronze medal, the best finish by any national team in the confederation.
To come back from a sorry loss it absorbed from Kazakhstan Tuesday night, the Filipinos annihilated Australia, 25-23, 25-15, 25-7, on Wednesday for the country’s first bronze since the 2019 Asean Grand Prix, now known as the SEA V.League.
“[Winning the bronze medal] feels surreal. I think it’s going to take a while for it to sink in because we went to this game not expecting anything … and now we’re going home with a medal,” said Jia de Guzman who has been the heart of Alas’ unprecedented successful stint.
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“It’s been years, decades since the last medal so we’re just so thankful [for the podium finish],” De Guzman added after her crew ended the country’s 63-year wait for a medal.
With the playmaking and leadership of De Guzman, four spikers shone led by the young Angel Canino of La Salle who churned out 14 points, mostly from attacks.
The explosive Sisi Rondina powered Alas with 13 points, two coming from the seven aces of Alas, while Eya Laure and Thea Gagate contributed 10 points apiece
“We’re really hopeful, we’re looking forward to more preparations for the upcoming tournaments that we will play in because if we have played like this [with just two weeks of preparation], we just hope now we just keep improving and move up,” De Guzman said.
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Alas Pilipinas will next play in the 2024 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Challenger Cup in July which the country also hosts at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Philippines was determined to finish the tournament defending its turf well and carved a straight sets win against the Volleyroos who lost in four sets when they met in preliminaries.
Australia amped up its net defense to cut Alas’ lead, but the Filipinos only needed to fight a little bit more and averted an opening frame disaster.
Alas refused the Aussies’ attempt for a repeat of that shaky opening frame and manufactured a 5-0 run capped by Angel Canino’s down the line kill to libero Allysha Sims, 19-10.
Alas Pilipinas’ Jia de Guzman against Australian defenders during the AVC Challenge Cup 2024 battle for bronze. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
The Filipinos dominated in that second frame without any shortage of attacks topped by the errors of Australia, which had a much better net defense in the first two sets.
But Alas’ heart showed in the decider leaving practically no room for error in its play and maximized every opportunity to close in on the victory against Australians who were already dazed from the nonstop offense of the Filipinos.
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“Playing with everyone in the team. As in. I’m just really blessed to be able to play with such talented girls from different generations, a very talented coaching staff,” De Guzman said when asked what the most special part of the tournament is for her.
“I am really thankful that I was given the opportunity to be the leader of this team, it was such a great team,” she added.
Caitlin Tipping, the lone bright spot for Australia with 13 points, scored the last point for Australia midway through an Alas 15-point deluge.
Nothing was going the Volleyroos’ way as Gagate initiated the finishing touches of Alas with a quick attack and her La Salle teammate Canino scoring from the back row, 22-7.
Rondina put on the finishing touches with back-to-back points with the nail in the coffin a cross-court kill that found an uncovered spot of the Aussies’ floor.