The Philippine Women’s National Team refused to be dwarfed by Kazakhstan, but were ultimately overwhelmed in their second encounter of the AVC Senior Women’s Championship, 23-25, 20-25, 18-25, at the Alonte Sports Arena.
The hosts fed off an electric crowd, slapping Kazakhstan with an 8-4 opening rally. Kazakh star Katerina Tatko, however, kept her team in the set with consistent attacking. Tatko’s block on Jaja Santiago gave Kazakhstan their first lead of game, 18-17. Tatko then provided the hit that pushed Kazakhstan to a 24-22 lead, setting up Kazakhstan’s set-clinching block on Aby Maraño.
It was the Philippines’ turn to fall behind early in the second set, trailing 4-8. The Nationals, however, made up the deficit after the second technical timeout, with Alyssa Valdez and Kim Fajardo finding nifty ways to score. Jaja Santiago capped a run with a booking quick hit that allowed the Philippines their only taste of the lead for the set, 18-17. From there, Kazakhstan’s blocking took center stage, stifling the Pinoys’ offense and winning them eight of the last 10 points.
The Pinays stayed within range of Kazakhstan in the third set until their offense completely stalled. Down 10-17, the Philippines tried one last rally but was met with a determined finishing flurry from Kazakhstan’s towers.
“We showed great heart and determination,” said National Team head coach Francis Vicente. “There were several errors na we could have prevented, pero kumapit naman tayo. ‘Yung ilang puntos na lamang nila sa atin bunga na ng experience nila ‘yun.”
Alyssa Valdez and Jaja Santiago replicated their effort against Hong Kong, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Philippines, however, fell greatly behind in blocking, surrendering 17 while only managing three.
Katerina Tatko finished with 20 points.
The Philipines, with a 1-1 record in Pool A, still moves on to the next seeding phase of the tournament in Pool E. They take on Asian powerhouse South Korea on Sunday.
The Scores
Kazakhstan (3) – Tatko 20, Zhdanova 11, Beresneva 9, Safronova 8, Petrenko 5, Akilova 4, Batkuldina 3, Kempa (L)
Philippines (0) – Valdez 14, Santiago 13, Gonzaga 6, Fajardo 4, Molina 4, Maraño 3, Dy 1, Reyes 1, Dimaculangan 0, Lazaro (L), Macandili (L)
