Podium bid in jeopardy as Alas Pilipinas bows to South Korea
Published Jun 9, 2026 05:29 pm
At A Glance
- Alas Pilipinas overcame a sluggish start in the opening two sets and showed signs of life in the third, but ultimately fell to South Korea, 16-25, 18-25, 22-25, to absorb its second loss in the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Cup at the Candon City Arena Tuesday, June 9.
Alyssa Valdez, left, and Ara Galang
CANDON CITY — Almost, but not quiet enough.
Alas Pilipinas overcame a sluggish start in the opening two sets and showed signs of life in the third, but ultimately fell to South Korea, 16-25, 18-25, 22-25, to absorb its second loss in the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Cup at the Candon City Arena Tuesday, June 9.
Fresh off a three-set win over Kyrgyzstan, the Nationals seemed to lose steam yet found ways to improve their showing with Thea Gagate, Niña Ytang, Alyssa Solomon, and skipper Alyssa Valdez spearheading the Filipina hitters’ counter to capture a 19-16 lead.
However, the Filipina spikers stumbled into crucial errors that South Korea took advantage of through an 8-0 blitz led by captain Sohwi Kang, to close out in straight sets.
With the loss, the Nationals dropped to 2-2 and put themselves in a crucial position as they must win their last Pool A game against Chinese Taipei if they wished to qualify in the semifinal.
South Korea remained unblemished at No. 1 with a 3-0 card to share the lead with Taipei. It also joins Pool B leaders in reigning champion Vietnam (3-0) and Kazakhstan (3-0) as remaining undefeated teams in the continental tiff.
A win by the Koreans over the Taiwanese or Australia beating South Korea would also help the host country’s semis bid.
If not, the Filipinas would lose their chance of improving their previous performance in the last two editions, and would be relegated to the classification round.
Outside hitter Kang impressed for the Korean side with 19 points off 15 attacks, one block, and three aces, while Juah Lee and Hyunsoo Na combined for 24 points. Yelim Lee and Dahyeon Lee also shone with seven points each.
Gagate topped Alas’ scoring anew after listing nine points on five spikes, three blocks, and one ace, while Ytang added eight points. Valdez and Solomon scored seven which all went down the drain.