Alas Pilipinas Girls secured a historic berth to the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship after defeating Thailand, 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, to claim fifth place in the 2nd AVC Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship on Saturday at the Prince Hamzah Sports Hall.
Team captain Xyz Rayco capped her international debut with a stellar 30-point performance, including 25 kills, four blocks, and an ace. And she led the youngest Philippine national volleyball squad to its best-ever finish and a ticket to next year’s World Championship in Chile.
Moments after the victory over Thailand, Philippine National Volleyball Federation and AVC president Ramon “Tats” Suzara congratulated the team for their remarkable achievement.
The Philippines claimed the final Asian spot, as China had already qualified as the defending world champion before reaching the Final Four. Other Asian qualifiers include Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Japan.
(C) AVC
“That’s really the icing on the cake,” said Alas U16 coach Edwin Leyva. “We only had two weeks to prepare, and at first, we were just a ragtag team. But we took it one set at a time, and now our dream has come true.”
Alas recovered after dropping the third set and withstood a late Thai rally in the fourth. With the score tied at 19-all, Rayco delivered in the clutch, scoring the final three points to seal both the victory and the World Championship slot.
“I’m inspired because I’m still young, but I’ve already come this far, and I know there’s still a higher level waiting for me,” said Rayco.
Nadeth Herbon supported Rayco with 16 points, while middle blocker Madele Gale contributed 11 points, including five blocks.
The win also served as redemption after the Philippines squandered a 2-1 lead and lost to Thailand in five sets during the quarterfinals.
(C) AVC
“In the third set, we started to feel down, but in the fourth, we didn’t let it happen again because we didn’t want a repeat of our last game,” Rayco added.
Despite limited preparation, the young Filipinas impressed in their international debut — taking a set off defending champion Japan, defeating Iran to reach the quarterfinals, and sweeping Hong Kong to earn a spot in the battle for fifth place.
Thailand finished sixth, led by Natacha Thongkham with 18 points and Chamikon Cankawe with 13.
