Tots Carlos of the Philippines smashes the ball in front of three Thai blockers during their quarterfinals match of the AVC Cup for Women on Saturday evening. | Photo from the AVC.
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Philippines faltered to reach the semifinals of the AVC Cup for Women after losing to Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand, 18-25, 25-23, 20-25, 9-25, on Saturday evening at the fully-packed Philsports Arena in Manila.
The Philippines lost the crucial match against the mighty Thais that won the tournament’s title in 2012 in front of 5,200 fans.
Despite their loss, the Philippines managed to show some fight by winning the second set. Jema Galanza’s smash allowed the Philippines to tie the match after the second set.
It gave the team’s head coach Sherwin Meneses’ side a chance to pull off a reversal. However, Thailand made a major adjustment in the third set by putting in Thanacha Sooksod to join forces with Chatchu-on Moksri and Pimpichaya Kokram.
Their presence was immediately felt on the court by winning the set, to grab a 2-1 lead en route to winning the match.
“Thailand has one system. Whoever enters the match will really contribute. The breaks went on their way in the third set. But we are still happy that we gave them a good fight,” said Meneses.
Thailand will face defending champion China in the semifinals of the event at 4 p.m. today, Sunday, August 28, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Philippines will shift its attention to finish fifth to eighth places in the tournament.
Moksri led Thailand with 21 points while Kokram added 12 points.
Michele Gumabao had two service aces to finish with 13 points while Tots Carlos added 12 points to lead the Philippines in scoring.
In the other quarterfinals match, China advanced to the semifinals by beating Australia, 25-13, 25-8, 25-8.
Wu Mengjie led China with 17 points, including four service aces, while Zhou Yetong had 14 points. Zhuang Yushan dropped 10 of her 13 points in the second set.
Caitlyn Tipping and Rebecca Redgen each had four points, while Stef Weiler contributed three points for the Volleyroos.
On the other hand, Japan easily booked a semifinals ticket to face Vietnam following a 25-23, 25-21, 26-28, 25-16 victory over Iran also on Saturday. Mizuki Tanaka scattered six of her 13 points.
Vietnam beat Chinese Taipei, 19-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10, in the other quarterfinals duel.
Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh led the Vietnames squad with 22 points, while Nguyen Thi Trinh had 10 points.
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