From a promising squad to a podium mainstay, Alas Pilipinas is quickly becoming a force to reckon with in the global volleyball scene.

The Philippine women’s volleyball team catapulted 10 spots in the FIVB Women’s World Rankings from No. 56 to No. 46 after bagging the silver medal at the 2025 AVC Asian Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup held last June 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Alas Pilipinas’ historic runner-up finish is the country’s best international result since the 1977 Southeast Asian Games.

The title also marks back-to-back podium finishes for the Philippines in an AVC-sanctioned tournament, building on last year’s bronze in the AVC Women’s Challenge Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on home soil.

Finals recap

Alas Pilipinas bowed to host country and world No. 25 Vietnam in straight sets, 15-25, 17-25, 14-25, in the championship match. Vietnam dominated the eight-day tournament, losing only one set courtesy of Kazakhstan en route to their third straight AVC title.

Heading into the finals, the Filipino volleybelles led by Jia De Guzman dominated Group B with a massive upset against the then-undefeated Kazakhstan crew to close out with a 4-1 record and claim the top seed. They also staved off a relentless Chinese Taipei squad in the semifinals, grabbing a gutsy five-set victory to set up a showdown with the home team.

Against Vietnam, Alas Pilipinas erased an early 0-3 deficit at the opening set to tie the score at 3-all behind a block from Thea Gagate and a kill from Alyssa Solomon. But Vietnam quickly turned the tide with a 4-0 scoring burst and never looked back, cruising to a 25-15 finish.

The second salvo saw the Filipino team gain some rhythm, briefly taking their first lead of the match, 7-5. However, Vietnam unleashed a powerful scoring surge that left them deeper to a 0-2 set deficit.

Despite a late rally fuelled by rookie Shaina Nitura’s hustle and timely conversions in the third frame, the host country proved too composed down the stretch, closing out the match with a 25-15 win to sweep the finals in straight sets.

Solomon led the scoring with 8 points, while Nitura provided an instant impact off the bench, notching 6 points in the third set alone. Fifi Sharma and Angel Canino were held to just 4 points apiece.

Vietnam’s Tran Thi Thanh Thuy (T4) and Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen combined for 37 points to seal the three-peat championship.

Pulling out the aces

Though the gold slipped away, the individual brilliance of the Alas Pilipinas collective refused to be dimmed.

Team captain De Guzman was named Best Setter for the second consecutive year, averaging 3.43 excellent sets per match and guiding the young squad to a historic finish.

Six-foot-three middle blocker Dell Palomata bagged the Best Middle Blocker award after tallying 11 kill blocks and averaging 1.83 rejections per set across five games.

Angel Canino, who won Best Opposite Hitter in last year’s tournament, secured the Best Outside Spiker title, ranking 11th in overall scoring and finishing with 74 points.

Vietnam bagged four individual awards, with T4 named Best Outside Hitter, Tuyen hailed as both Best Opposite Hitter and Most Valuable Player, and Nguyen Khanh Dang recognized as Best Libero. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei’s Kan Ko-Hui emerged as Best Middle Blocker.

The two teams are set to cross paths once more as Alas Pilipinas gears up for the VTV Cup, scheduled from June 28 to July 5 in Vietnam.

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