CANDON, Ilocos Sur — Alas Pilipinas wrapped up its 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup campaign in eighth place, marking its worst finish in tournament history after a straight-sets defeat to Iran, 21–25, 12–25, 21–25, on Sunday at the Candon City Arena here.
The result marked a steep decline for the Philippines, which placed seventh in its maiden appearance in 2023 and had shown steady progress in recent years, highlighted by a historic silver medal in 2025 and a bronze finish in 2024.
The campaign also came after several members of the previous Alas Pilipinas core opted to beg off from the tournament amid internal issues surrounding the suspended Philippine National Volleyball Federation, forcing the formation of a hastily assembled squad for the tournament presented by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The Philippines showed brief sparks early on but was ultimately outclassed, as Iran took control of the match and dominated in all departments, finishing with a 42-31 edge in attacks, 5-4 in blocks, and a commanding 8-2 advantage in service aces to complete the straight-sets win.
Alyssa Solomon, who had nine points in the opening set, was limited to just three in the next two frames and finished with a team-high 12 points on 11 attacks and one ace in the 70-minute match.
Jovelyn Gonzaga added six points, Niña Ytang chipped in five, while team captain Alyssa Valdez was held to just four points in Alas Pilipinas’ final game in the tilt co-presented by the FIVB, AVC, Volleyball World, and Candon City led by Mayor Eric Singson.
“I can say that we did everything we could. We tried our best every game, every game we gave all that we could do,” said Ytang.
“Sobrang thankful ako sa opportunity na ibinigay na for one last time, I got to play for the Philippines,” Gonzaga added.
Iran, meanwhile, finished in seventh place, a step lower than its sixth-place finish in the previous edition.
Elaheh Poursaleh led Iran with 18 points, while Fatemeh Khalili added nine. Zahra Salehi and Ahankoub Roo Yasna chipped in eight points apiece in the win.
