ALAS Pilipinas Girls’ historic run in the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship took a setback after South Korea swept the Filipinas, 25-21, 25-18, 25-14, in their round of 16 match on Thursday in Los Andes, Chile.
The Philippines stayed competitive in the early portions of the sets but struggled to sustain its momentum as South Korea gradually pulled away each time behind their experience.
The defeat ended Alas Pilipinas Girls’ bid for a place in the quarterfinals and sent the young Filipinas to the classification stage for places 9th to 16th.
Caera Celis continued her fine play for Alas Pilipinas Girls with 14 points, while Xyz Ellen Rayco added nine and Sharina Rhyza Lleses contributed seven.
South Korea controlled the attacking game, 45-29, while also holding advantages in blocks, 7-5, and service aces, 6-4. Alas Girls committed 17 errors compared to South Korea’s 15.
Despite the loss, Alas Girls had a good run in the world stage as they finished the preliminary round with two wins in five games.
The Philippines opened the tournament with a straight-set loss to defending champion China before beating Mexico and Tunisia. The team then dropped five-set matches to Peru and Venezuela to close the group stage.
Alas Pilipinas Girls will have a day break on Friday before plunging back to action on Saturday against Japan to start the classification round. (Adrian Co)
