CANDON, Ilocos Sur — Alas Pilipinas’ semifinal hopes came to a crashing end after Chinese Taipei delivered a dominant 25-16, 25-14, 25-10 sweep to close out the home team’s pool phase campaign in the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, on Thursday at the Candon City Arena.
The Philippines wrapped up Pool A with a 2-3 record, dropping into the classification phase, where it will compete in either the fifth- or seventh-place match depending on the remaining results.
The finish marks the country’s lowest in the competition in the past two years, following breakthrough campaigns that produced a historic bronze in 2024 and a silver-medal finish in 2025 — both achieved with the previous Alas Pilipinas core.
Chinese Taipei dictated the match from start to finish, overwhelming the hosts with a commanding 40-18 edge in attacks, 10-3 in blocks, and a 5-0 advantage in aces.
The semifinal-bound Taiwanese side also neutralized the Philippines’ key scorers, holding Alyssa Solomon to six points, Niña Ytang to three, and both Thea Gagate and Alyssa Valdez to just two points each.
“Siguro talaga malaking factor dito ‘yung preparation namin. And then siguro talagang kailangan pa ng more time para dito, but we need to accept na ganito talaga ‘yung naging nangyari,” said Alas Pilipinas interim head coach Shaq delos Santos.
“But ‘di kami mawawalan ng hope kasi gusto namin maging better pa ‘yung volleyball natin,” he added, as the team shifts its focus to the classification phase, which begins on Saturday.
On the other side, Chinese Taipei rose to the top of Pool A with a 4-0 record, clinching the first semifinals berth in the group stage of the tournament co-presented by the FIVB, AVC, Volleyball World, and Candon City, led by Mayor Eric Singson.
Hsu Wanyun led Chinese Taipei with 14 points built on 13 attacks and one ace, while Chang Yichi and Chen Ciaoen added 13 and 12 points, respectively. The offense was orchestrated by Liao Yijen, who faced familiar faces from her stint in the 2022 PVL Invitational Conference.
The Taiwanese side exacted revenge after being eliminated by Alas Pilipinas in last year’s semifinals.
