Alas girls lose steam vs Peruvians

MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas Girls missed out on a historic outright trip to the Round of 16 after bowing to Peru in a heartbreaking 26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 25-20 defeat Monday in the FIVB Volleyball Girls U17 World Championship in San Felipe, Chile.

The loss dropped the Filipinas to fourth in Pool B with a 2-2 record, while Peru punched a ticket to the next round along with reigning champion China, which stayed perfect through four matches.

Hope is not lost for the Nationals, however.

Alas can still advance with a win against Venezuela – currently at No. 3 with an identical 2-2 mark – in their game late last night.

The Filipinas can also sneak in with a five-set loss to Venezuela, provided Mexico (1-3) beats already-eliminated Tunisia (0-4) to force a tiebreak.

Alas looked poised for another shocker after stealing the opening set behind Caera Celis’ 10-point explosion.

But Peru adjusted, limiting Celis – the team’s leading scorer – to just seven combined points in the next two sets.

Celis was held scoreless in the fourth.

Xyz Ellen Rayco and Sharina Rhyza Lleses tried to pick up the slack with 18 and 12 points, respectively, but the hole left by Celis was too big to fill as Alas ran out of steam in the end.