Philippine spikers whip Kazakhstan in Asian Cup

MANILA, Philippines — Team Philippines ended a string of setbacks to Kazakhstan, carving out a 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17 victory in pool play in the AVC Asian Cup at the Korat Chatchai Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand yesterday.

The Pinay spikers parlayed the Kazakhs’ series of unforced errors midway in the fourth, turning a 10-14 deficit into an 18-14 lead then relievers Risa Sato and Grethcel Soltones capped the Phl’s strong windup with hits and a block.

The victory was the Philippines’ first in the tournament after a pair of heartbreakers that booted the Filipinas out of the quarterfinal race.

They rallied from early deficits in the opening frame with Alyssa Valdez clinching it with a power hit against three defenders. They took control in the next but faltered before regrouping and going 2-up on a block and a Kazakh service miscue.

The Kazakhs came out strong in the third, posting huge leads but fell into a maze of errors – from the service line to reception and floor defense, enabling the Pinays to draw level at 14 before racking up four more points behind Soltones and Mylene Paat.

The Phl has previously failed to hurdle the tall Kazakh side, including in the 2017 Asian Senior Volleyball Championship, and just recently in the Asian Games where it dropped a sorry five-setter in their battle for fifth spot.

The Pinays eventually finished eighth in the quadrennial games.

In the AVC, the Phl missed pulling off a pair of reversals against Australia, 25-21, 25-21, 24-26, 16-25, 10-15, Sunday and Iran, 29-27, 16-25, 25-17, 12-25, 13-15, Tuesday but poured it out against Kazakhstan to finish their group play with a 1-2 card.