Alas Pilipinas bows to Iran, settles for 8th place at AVC Cup

CANDON, Ilocos Sur, June 15 ------ Alas Pilipinas bowed down to Iran in straight sets, 21-25, 12-25, 21-25, to conclude its 2026 AVC Cup campaign at eighth place at the Candon City Arena here.

This marks the Philippines’ lowest finish in all editions of the tournament. The country’s worst result before this was in the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup, settling for seventh place in another Philippine-hosted tourney. Alyssa Solomon topped all Filipino scorers with 12 points on 11 attacks and one ace, while Jov Gonzaga was far second in scoring with six markers to go with five digs. Libero Alyssa Eroa listed 12 digs and four receptions, defending the Philippine side of the floor.

In a last-ditch effort in the third set, Alas came within four, 23-19, after by falling as much as eight, as Elaheh Poorsaleh and Ayda Valinezhad suffered attack errors. Elaheh made up for her fault that put Iran to match point, 24-19, but Gonzaga fired one that kept Philippines alive, as a successful floor touch challenge from the coaching staff put Alas within three, 24-21. However, that last stand eventually fell flat as Gonzaga suffered a crucial service error in the end, concluding the match in one hour and 10 minutes.

In Set 1, Solomon tried to ignite the fire in Alas Pilipinas, scoring the Philippines’ first six points. However, did not go the home bets' way, as the Nationals went down eventually by six, 15-9. They climbed their way back, inching closer at 20-18, but the service errors proved crucial, as Niña Ytang and Kyle Negrito suffered errors from the service line. Shabnam Alikhani showed how it was done with an ace that put Iran on set point, allowing Elaheh to fire a long shot that clinched the opener, 25-21. It was only a close seven-all game in the succeeding frame before the Iranians went on to a 5-0 run, capped by a Fatemeh Khalili attack for a 12-7 cushion, eventually pulling away. Meanwhile, Iran concluded at seventh place in the tournament presented by the PSC, FIVB, AVC, Volleyball World and Candon City headed by Mayor Eric Singson. Elaheh tallied 18 points on 17 attacks and one block to lead the winning side.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com