Alas Pilipinas Girls showed flashes of brilliance but fell short in firepower, dropping its Round of 16 clash to South Korea, 25-21, 25-18, 25-14, in the FIVB Volleyball Girls U17 World Championship on Thursday (Manila time).
Behind the steady play of Xyz Rayco and the persistent offense of Caera Celis, the Philippines kept Korea within reach for much of the match at Liceo Mixto Los Andes, repeatedly threatening to turn the tide with timely attacks and improved cohesion during extended rallies.
(C) FIVB
But Korea proved more lethal whenever plays broke down, consistently finding ways to score out of scrambling sequences and pull away whenever the young Filipinas began to build momentum.
The Philippines remained competitive at the net, trailing only 5-7 in blocks and 4-6 in aces.
Korea, however, made the bigger difference in attack, holding a commanding 45-29 advantage in points from spikes.
(C) FIVB
Soyeon Son led all scorers with 19 points, including 13 attacks, while Minseo Eo added 15, with 14 coming from attacks, to power Korea into the quarterfinals against Türkiye, which swept Japan, 25-18, 25-7, 25-23.
Celis again paced Alas with 14 points on 12 attacks, one block, and one ace, while Rayco delivered a near all-around performance with nine points while anchoring the defense.
The Philippines will now turn its attention to the classification phase for ninth to 16th place, where it will face Japan on Thursday in Santiago following Wednesday’s tournament break.
