Pulling key contributions from several players, the Philippines Women’s National Volleyball Team scored their first win in the Asian Games after sweeping Hong Kong, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
This is the first win of the Women’s Volleyball Team in the continental meet since December 3, 1982. The Philippines defeated India in the New Delhi Games, 15-9, 15-9, 15-2.
The Pinays, who won their first set of the tournament after absorbing straight-set losses to Thailand and Japan, reaped the benefits of shuffling through their lineup in the past two matches.
Getting off to a good start thanks to solid setting from Kim Fajardo, the Nationals sprinted to a 21-14 lead in the first frame. A string of bad passes gave Hong Kong a liftoff point to trim the lead to four, 21-17, but the Philippines responded with a quick 4-1 run to close the set.
Substitutes Majoy Baron, Dindin Santiago-Manabat, and Jia Morado made big plays down the stretch of the second set. The trio combined for five of the Philippines’ last six points that shut down another late Hong Kong rally.
Mylene Paat then made an imprint on the third set, hopping off the bench and pushing the Pinays to a 19-16 lead. After threatening to take the lead several times in the past frames, Hong Kong came closest after trimming the Philippines lead down to one, 21-20. But tough float serving from Jaja Santiago eventually buoyed the Philippines to a 24-21 edge, setting up Kianna Dy’s game-winning hit.
Alyssa Valdez topped the Nationals with 14 points off 10 attacks and four aces. The 6-foot-5 Santiago added 12 markers built on eight attacks, two blocks, and two aces.
The Filipinas established their might through superior blocking and serving, piling up 18 combined points from both scoring skills, while Hong Kong had just four.
The Philippines (1-2) needs to win against Southeast Asian rival and host Indonesia on Saturday to solidify its quarterfinals bid.
The Scores
Philippines (3) – Valdez 14, Santiago 12, Reyes 8, Dy 6, Manabat 5, Paat 5, Baron 4, Maraño 4, Fajardo 3, Morado 2, Cruz 0, Lazaro (L), Macandili (L)
Hong Kong (0) – Yeung 15, Chim 10, Pang 7, Ip 4, Koo 2, Lam 2, Fung 1, Tsang 0, Yu 0, Chan (L), Tsui (L)
