Alas Pilipinas Women.–PNVF PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Alas Pilipinas women showed marked progress in a short period, putting up a fight against nine-time Japan champion Saga Hisamitsu Springs before dropping a 14-25, 21-25, 19-25 loss on Sunday in the Alas Pilipinas Invitationals at the PhilSports Arena.
Alyssa Solomon came up with two crucial points in an impressive run that put Alas Pilipinas women ahead 16-12 in the second set.
Eya Laure, Fifi Sharma and Vanie Gandler also had a hand in the intense offensive stretch that drew huge cheers from the appreciative Sunday crowd.
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Saga Hisamitsu Springs, however, managed to regroup fast and douse cold water on the Philippine charge, keeping Alas Pilipinas Women scoreless in the next possessions to tie the score at 16 and regain control.
Mika Yoshitake, the 21-year-old opposite hitter, showed the way for Hisamitsu Springs with 16 points, 14 from attacks, as the visiting team completed a two-match sweep of their weekend duel with the Filipina spikers.
Ayane Kitamado, 20, delivered nine points, all on attacks as 25-year-old Sae Nakajima scored nine, including seven on attacks.
Alas Pilipinas Women coach Jorge Souza de Brito said he was pleased with the performance, noting that the numbers do not matter at this stage.
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“It’s good for us,” said de Brito, who steered Alas Pilipinas Women to bronze medal finishes in the Southeast Asian V.League last month.
“We need to give exposure to all of them … we need more matches at this level. We need international-level play since we’re the national team.”
Team captain Dawn Macandili-Catindig was also all smiles despite the back-to-back losses, stressing that the matches are an important part of the preparations for future events such as the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
“It’s important that we do well ahead of other events, as we also look forward to the SEA Games,” said Catindig.
Solomon finished with seven points, Sisi Rondina added five, while Gandler and Sharma added four each for Alas Pilipinas Women.