Philippines loses to Iran in Asian U-23 debut

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines came up short in their rally, losing to Iran in their debut game of the Rebisco Asian Under-23 Women’s Volleyball Championship, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20, on Friday, May 1, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Despite battling a hand injury, Alyssa Valdez was superb for the Philippines with 31 points, while National University standout Jaja Santiago pitched in 13 markers.

Mahsa Saberi, Iran’s team captain, led her team with 16 points while Mahsa Kadkhoda registered 14.

The first set was anyone’s ball game, with the match tying at 20 at one point as the hometown crowd rose to their seats. But the experienced Iranians took control from there, scoring 5 of the next 7 points to draw first blood.

Valdez hurt her hand in the second set, where errors by the Philippine team helped Iran pull away late for a 2-0 sets lead.

The Philippine team took over in the third set, establishing a 7-point advantage at one point before running away with the win. But in the final period, Iran built an early momentum and was in control until scoring the game-clinching point.

The Philippines had more spikes than Iran, 50-41, and more service aces, 10-8. However, 40 errors by the hometown team were detrimental to their cause, while the Iranians had only 27 miscues.

The Philippines will go up against Kazakhstan on Saturday, May 2, for a shot at advancing to the next round of the tournament.

The Asian Under-23 Volleyball championship serves as the qualifying round for the 2015 FIVB Under-23 Volleyball World Championship in Ankara, Turkey. – Rappler.com

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said “The Philippines had more spikes than the Philippines…” It has since been corrected to read: “The Philippines had more spikes than Iran…”