Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

2016 Asian WCC

NEC Red Rockets clobber Foton Pilipinas


Foton Pilipinas got a healthy helping of top-caliber international competition, falling to Japanese club NEC Red Rockets in straight sets 13-25, 7-25, in the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship second group phase at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.

Foton head coach Fab Menta painted the Red Rockets as “nearly-unbeatable” and the his team nearly put up a fight in the opening set. Pilipinas traded points until the first technical timeout. NEC held a slim 14-11 lead which suddenly swelled with Foton only winning two points for the rest of the set.

Pilipinas tried adjustments in the second frame, switching out setter Rhea Dimaculangan and open hitter Cherry Rondina for Ivy Perez and Ej Laure, respectively. But the hosts succumbed early and devastatingly, only getting their first attack point at 3-19.

The Red Rockets then took their turn, subbing in their bench players in the third frame and resulting in a closer affair. Foton held momentary two-point leads before the first technical timeout but the Japanese took a 9-8 lead and never looked back. Pilipinas surrendered a 12-20 hole and suffered their second straight loss of the tournament.

American import Ariel Usher tallied seven points while Aby Maraño and Cherry Rondina each had four points.

NEC team captain Akari Oumi led all scorers with 13 points, Sarina Koga and Mizuki Yanigata had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

“We went to school today. NEC is a top 10 or 15 club in the world. Obviously, we aren’t there yet,” said Menta.

Foton, currently in Group E, is competing for seeding in the knockout, crossover quarterfinals when they take on one of Group F’s squads which Bayi Army of China, Bangkok Glass of Thailand, Iran or Chinese Taipei.

#ReadMore  VNL: Koga, Inoue blast Bulgaria, keep Nippon's slate unblemished

At 0-2, Foton will need to win their last Group tilt tomorrow against Kazakstan’s Altay VC (1-1) to possibly avoid the bottom seed in Group E and the top team in Group F come the quarterfinal.

The Scores

NEC (3) – Oumi 13, Koga 11, Yanigata 10, Sagawa 9, Hiroshe 5, Ono 5, Oyama 2, Yataka 2, Yamaguchi 1, Sho 0, Ueno 0, Torigoe (L)

Foton (0) – Usher 7, Maraño 4, Rondina 4, Dimaculangan 2, Gonzaga 2, Santiago 2, Laure 1, Perez 0, General (L), Reyes (L)

Written By

Miguel Luis Flores fell face first into sports writing in high sch9l and has never gotten up. He reluctantly stumbled into the volleyball beat when he started with Tiebreaker Times three years ago. Now, he has waded through everything volleyball - from its icky politics to the post-modern art that is Jia Morado's setting.


You May Also Like

News

With three former MVPs on board, a Filipino-Canadian scoring machine as a sophomore, and a pool of reliable standouts as holdovers, expect a much...

News

Choco Mucho will not be left behind. The Flying Titans announced a trio of new recruits they will parade for the 2024 Premier Volleyball...

News

Several Premier Volleyball League teams have already made key releases ahead of the upcoming 2024 season. Choco Mucho has released opposite spiker Caitlyn Viray,...

News

Cignal rose back from the dead, mounting an epic comeback from a 0-2 deficit to stun Choco Mucho in five sets, 18-25, 23-25, 25-14,...

News

PLDT continued its winning streak, handing Gerflor an embarrassing straight-set defeat with scores of 25-8, 25-9, 25-17 in the Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino...

News

STA. ROSA — Despite securing the victory, PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort and team captain Rhea Dimaculangan remained unsatisfied after their slow start against...

News

STA. ROSA — PLDT initially yielded the spotlight to Nxled in a tightly contested opening set clash but took control for the rest of...

News

Jia De Guzman made her debut in V.League Division 1 on Saturday, coming off the bench. De Guzman’s team, Denso, faced defending champion NEC...

Advertisement