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. The team pulled off a strong come-from-behind win in the opener, only to falter in the next three sets and finish Group B winless at 0-2.
Angel Canino dropped 23 points on 20 attacks, two blocks, and one ace in a losing effort. Alyssa Solomon added 20 points — including nine in the second set alone — on 15 attacks, four blocks, and one ace.
Alas needed a huge performance from Canino to escape Kazakhstan in the first set. The La Salle star hammered 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. Then Eya Laure took over and capped the comeback with a well-placed cut shot.
Alas Pilipinas found itself in the same situation in the next two sets, falling behind Kazakhstan early before mounting a comeback.
Both times, however, the Philippines could not complete either rally, allowing the Kazakhs 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. It broke 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 lead to just five, but it was not enough. Kazakhstan weathered the storm, completed the sweep of the final three sets, and secured its spot — along with China’s — in the quarterfinals.
With the loss, the Philippines will head down to the qualification phase, while Kazakhstan will face China for the top seed in Pool B on Friday.
Nikitina top-scored for the Kazakhs with 19 points. Zhanna Syroyeshkina and Polina Ufimtseva added 17 and 14 points, respectively.
