DE BRITO AFTER ALAS LOSS TO IRAN: MINDSET REMAINS — ALWAYS FIGHT HARD

MANILA, Philippines — ALAS PILIPINAS suffered its first loss—a close one—to Iran, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15, on Monday to find itself in a must-win situation to stay in contention for the semifinals of the AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup at the Dong Anh Arenain Hanoi.

The team's Brazilian head coach, Jorge Edson Souza de Brito, said the Alas Pilipinas ladies gave their best but the Iranians just played better in the seesaw match.

"We had the chance to lead in the fifth set but it's the game—they played good [and] they deserved the win," he said. "My players did their best as they can."

With a 2-1 won-lost record, the world No. 47 Alas Pilipinas has to beat higher-ranked teams—No. 29 New Zealand first on Thursday and No. 29 Kazakhstan on Friday in Pool B to advance further in the tournament.

"We're going to improve and we still have a chance so we will fight for this and be ready for New Zealand and Kazakhstan," de Brito said. "The mindset is still the same, it's always fight hard because the result will come if you keep on playing hard."

Kazakhstan is unbeaten in three matches with New Zealand still 0-2 following defeats to the Kazakhs and Iranians.

"For tomorrow, we just take a little rest and prepare for New Zealand and then go to Kazakhstan," added de Brito, referring to Wednesday's rest day for the Philippine team, which made significant strides in the world rankings since the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon "Tats" Suzaratook over as national federation in 2021.

From No. 156 in the FIVB rankings, the Philippines made a giant stride to No. 66 in 2023, leapfrogged to No. 58 in 2024 and this year, the team moved nine rungs up from No. 56 to 47th in the world.

Angel Canino led the nationals with 21 points on 17 kills, two blocks and two aces, while Eya Laure had 16 points built on 12 kills, three blocks and an ace for Alas Pilipinas which missed Alyssa Solomon, who sprained her left ankle in Sunday's win over Indonesia.

"Tough match," Canino said. "But we learned a lot from this loss and this will help us grow as a team and as individuals."

Chermahini had 21 points, Masi Tabaghdehi finished with 16 and Zahra Salehi, whose block on Canino decided the result, made 12 points for Iran which improved to 3-0, the same record as Kazakhstan, a 25-17, 25-12, 26-24 winner over Indonesia also on Monday.

Only the top two teams from each of the two pools will advanceto the semifinals.

2025-06-09T13:43:03Z