Alas Pilipinas Women kept battling back from early deficits against Kazakhstan but repeatedly fell short when it mattered most, bowing out of contention in the 20th Asian Games after a 29-27, 24-26, 23-25, 19-25 loss at Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium in Aichi, Japan.
Coming off a valiant straight-set defeat to defending champion China yesterday, the Philippines looked poised to claim an important win after pulling off a strong comeback in the opening set. However, Alas faltered in the next three frames to finish Group B winless at 0-2.
Alas needed a huge performance from Angel Canino to escape Kazakhstan in the first set, with the La Salle star hammering down nine points to help the Philippines erase an 18-14 deficit and force extra points before securing the 1-0 lead.
Canino scored four of Alas’ final six points in the opening frame, including the cross-court attack that gave the Philippines a 27-26 lead, before Eya Laure took over and capped the comeback with a well-placed cut shot.
Alas Pilipinas found itself in a similar situation in the next two sets, falling behind early before mounting comebacks. Both times, however, the Philippines could not complete the rallies, allowing Kazakhstan to take a 2-1 advantage and move within a set of victory.
Kazakhstan then wasted no time putting the match away in the fourth set, breaking away from a slim 9-8 lead with a 12-5 run led by Kristina Belova and Tatyana Nikitina to build a 21-13 advantage.
Bella Belen and Canino powered a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to five, but it was not enough as Kazakhstan weathered the late surge to close out the match and secure its spot, along with China, in the quarterfinals.
With the loss, the Philippines will head to the qualification phase, while Kazakhstan will face China for the top seed in Pool B on Friday.
