ALAS Pilipinas Women closed their 2026 Asian Games campaign on a high note, sweeping Hong Kong, 25-21, 25-9, 30-28, on Tuesday night at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium to finish ninth overall in Aichi-Nagoya.
Ninth place was never the target.
The Filipinas arrived in Japan hoping to compete for a medal, but losses to China and Kazakhstan in the preliminary round ended their quarterfinal hopes and forced the team to reset its goals.
Head coach Taka Minowa challenged his players to win all three classification matches and finish as high as possible—and they delivered.
Alas swept Qatar, Mongolia, and Hong Kong to finish the tournament with a three-game winning streak.
For Angel Canino, who was playing in her first Asian Games, those victories still carried plenty of meaning despite falling short of the team’s original objective.
“Actually, happy kami. Although hindi ’yun iyung gusto naming overall goal sa Asian Games, happy kami sa lahat ng wins namin, iyung mga nagawa namin as a team and, of course, iyung learning experience.”
Canino also described the experience of representing the Philippine national team on such a major stage as a personal milestone.
“Grabeng achievement siguro individually… such an amazing experience na makasama ko my ates, na makasama ako sa Philippine national team. Kasi yung iba diyan, ini-idolize ko din,” said Canino.
Bella Belen, meanwhile, said the tournament exposed exactly where the Filipinas still need to grow.
“Iba. Iba talaga iyung laruan. Ang dami naming napulot, lalo na sa aming mga bata. Alam namin na meron pang dapat itaas, itaas pa namin iyung level of playing namin.”
The losses to China and Kazakhstan provided a measuring stick for the team, showing both its potential and the gap it still needs to close against Asia’s top sides.
But after ending the campaign with three straight wins, Alas leaves Nagoya with experience, lessons and a clearer picture of what comes next.
They came here for a medal. They leave with ninth place but more importantly, they leave knowing there is still another level to reach.
And the message from Alas is simple: this is not the end. They’ll be back. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
