MANILA, Philippines—Alas Pilipinas opened its 2024 SEA V-League campaign on a sour note, losing to Vietnam 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21 on Friday night in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam.
After tying the game at one set a piece, the Vietnamese found the right pace to pull away from the Filipinos and rack up back-to-back sets.
In the fourth set, a comeback rally looked possible for Alas after a tip by Jia De Guzman that put the Philippines up, 20-19.
However, Vietnam answered back with a 4-1 blitz to take a pivotal 23-21 advantage.
Dell Palomata and Alyssa Solomon committed back-to-back errors which ultimately spelled the end for Alas in its first game of the tournament’s Vietnam leg.
Solomon spearheaded the Philippines’ offense with 20 points while Eya Laure, Thea Gagate and Vanie Gandler scored 13, 12 and 12, respectively, but to no avail.
Thi Bich Thuyen Nguyen powered the Vietnamese with 27 points. She was the sole double-digit scorer for Vietnam.
The Filipino spikers looks to bounce back when they face Thailand on Saturday, 4 pm.