Alas Pilipinas Women suffered their first loss in the 2025 AVC Nations Cup, falling in a five-set heartbreaker to unbeaten Iran, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15, on Monday at Doang Anh Gymnasium in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Philippines dropped to 2-1, now holding sole possession of third place in Pool B. Only the top two teams among the six squads after the single round-robin eliminations will advance to the crossover semifinals.
Trailing 5-8 in the deciding fifth set, Alas Pilipinas mounted a comeback fueled by young guns Shaina Nitura and Angel Canino, who orchestrated a 6-1 rally to take an 11-9 lead.
Back-to-back errors by the Philippines allowed Iran to tie the game at 11, but Dell Palomata responded with a quick hit through the blockers. Then Vanie Gandler, who entered as a service specialist, served an ace to put the Philippines two points away from preserving their unbeaten record.
However, the Iranians refused to fold.
Fatemeh Khalili sparked the comeback with a crosscourt hit, followed by Zahra Salehi blocking Nitura at the net to tie the set at 13.
Canino then made an unforced error, sending her hit out of bounds and giving Iran match point.
Iran was initially awarded the next point when Nitura was called for a centerline fault on her landing after an attack, but the Philippines successfully challenged the call, earning one last chance.
Salehi ended the match, reading Canino’s attack perfectly and delivering a powerful block that sealed the win for Iran after two hours and 37 minutes of intense play.
Canino led the Philippines with 20 points on 17 spikes, two blocks, and an ace. Meanwhile, Eya Laure, who did not play in the fifth set, contributed 16 points and 14 excellent digs.
Palomata also reached double digits with 10 points from seven attacks and three blocks, and Fifi Sharma added eight points.
Alas Pilipinas will finally have a much-needed rest day tomorrow before returning to action on Wednesday at 4:00 PM against New Zealand at the same venue.
The match was error-filled, with Iran committing 36 errors and the Philippines 32 miscues.
Iran joined reigning champion Kazakhstan atop the standings with a perfect 3-0 record.
Khalili led all scorers with 21 points on 19 attacks and two blocks, while Masoumeh Masi added 16 points.
Salehi was also instrumental, tallying 12 points on six blocks, five attacks, and an ace.
