Bright future ahead for Alas Pilipinas. —AVC PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Vietnam coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet was all praise for Alas Pilipinas, which took home the silver medal in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Nations Cup after losing to the hosts in Hanoi.
Alas Pilipinas got dominated in the gold medal game, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14, but the result didn’t diminish the Filipinos’ historic runner-up finish that catapulted the country to world No. 46 in women’s volleyball from its previous ranking of 56th.
READ: Alas Pilipinas’ AVC silver ‘means everything’ for PH volleyball
“Every victory is sweet, but winning on home ground is especially exhilarating. It truly delighted our fans here,” said the Vietnamese coach through a translator after steering her side to a third consecutive crown.
“The Philippines team delivered a remarkable performance this season. However, perhaps due to having played a grueling five-set match in the semifinals yesterday, they were drained of energy,” he added.
Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and tournament MVP Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen led Vietnam with 20 and 17 points, respectively.
Alas made its first-ever AVC final and first appearance in a gold medal match since the 1997 Southeast Asian Games after outlasting Chinese Taipei in the semifinal of the continental championship on Friday night, 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 15-12.
Alas also swept last year’s runner-up, Kazakhstan, to clinch the top seed of Pool B.
READ: Alas Pilipinas players bag awards in AVC Nations Cup
Besides the silver, Alas also had three awardees in Jia De Guzman, Angel Canino and Dell Palomata.
De Guzman was named Best Setter for the second straight time, Canino, who won last year’s Best Opposite Hitter, brought home another honor, as Best Outside Spiker, while Palomata was hailed Best Middle Blocker.
Canino and Bella Belen also caught the attention of Tuan Kiet.
“In addition to familiar faces, player No. 12 and No. 4 stood out with impressive performances despite their modest height,” he said.
Despite another dominant run, Vietnam believes its Southeast Asian Games rival will only get better.
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“Nevertheless, the Philippines will undoubtedly remain a serious contender this year,” he said.