Alas girls bow to Peru in four sets in FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship – BusinessWorld Online
ALAS PILIPINAS missed out on a historic outright trip to the Round of 16 after Peru dealt the former a heartbreaking 26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 defeat last Monday in the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship in San Felipe, Chile.
That sent the Filipinas sprawling to fourth spot in Pool B with an even 2-2 record while propelling the Peruvians straight to the next round along with the Chinese, the reigning titlist who stayed unscathed in four matches.
But there is still hope though for the Nationals, assuming they beat the Venezuelans, currently at No. 3 in the group with a 2-2 mark, in their duel currently being played at press time.
Or, the Alas girls would lose in five sets, rendering the match between Mexico (1-3) and eliminated Tunisia (0-4) on Tuesday as non-bearing.
Alas appeared headed for another shocker after snatching the opening set, thanks to Caera Celis’ 10-point brilliance.
But Ms. Celis, the team’s leading scorer, was held to just a combined seven in the next two and was completely neutralized in the fourth and last set where she was held scoreless.
She ended up with 17 points.
Xyz Ellen Rayco and Sharina Rhyza Lleses tried to carry the fight for Alas and finished with 18 and 12 hits, respectively, but it wasn’t enough in the end as the hole left by Ms. Celis was just too big for the Filipinas to fill it. — Joey Villar