Seasoned Philippine spikers dominate Koreans to seal AVC Cup quarterfinals spot

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 9:05 p.m.) — An older and wiser Philippine women's volleyball team stamped its class on a young South Korea squad in their final Pool A game, 25-18, 25-13, 25-17, to book a spot in the next round of the AVC Cup for Women at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Thursday.

Finishing pool play with a 2-2 slate, the Filipina spikers will face Thailand in the next round on Saturday.

Playing against a Korea squad that had an average age of 17 years old, the veteran-laden Philippines rode the hot hand of Jema Galanza in the opening salvo.

The Filipinas claimed set point early, 24-13 after a Ced Domingo hit.

While the Koreans came alive to save five set points, a costly service error from their end gifted the early advantage to the Philippines, 25-18.

But arguably the toughest challenge from the Koreans was when they inched within three, 19-16, in the third set clincher.

Yet another service error by the visitors killed any momentum of their fight back and spearheaded a 5-0 scoring burst.

Galanza's hot start propelled her to the top of the scoring sheet with 12 markers for the Philippines, half of which came in the first set. 

Tots Carlos added 11 markers while Domingo contributed nine points including three blocks.

Seyul Kim was the bright spot for Korea with nine points.

Korea, which paraded a team of high school standouts in the tournament, thus become the only squad to miss the quarterfinals bus, finishing ninth.

The Philippines will have a rest day on Friday before preparing for battle against the Thais for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Regardless of the result, it is already the best finish for the Philippines, having previously ended up ninth in its only other appearance in the tournament.

Philippine National Volleyball Federation chief Ramon "Tats" Suzara raved about the result for the Nationals.

“These two wins are amazing for Philippine volleyball, it’s history — beating Iran and Korea for the last 30 years or more,” he said.