MANILA – The Philippines suffered a deflating 13-25, 26-24, 7-25, 21-25 defeat at the hands of Korea in the classification round of the 6th Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women in Thailand.
Friday’s loss relegated the Ceseal delos Santos-mentored Filipina squad to a battle-for-ninth place match against Kazakhstan, which the Pinays previously defeated last Tuesday.
The Philippines tried to keep the match close early in the first set behind Alyssa Valdez and Cha Cruz-Behag but Korea suddenly pulled to a 14-5 advantage and never looked back.
Both teams had a tight exchange of points in the second set with no team leading more than 5 points. With the scores tied 24-all, the Philippines banked on clutch plays of Cruz and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas to level the set count.
Still, the Koreans bounced back with a vengeance in the third set as they pounded on the errors of the Philippines to pull away by as much as 15 points and retake the set edge.
The Philippines tried to keep in step with Korea in the fourth set and were only behind 16-19 when Aby Maraño tried to steer the squad back in the match. The Koreans got timely shots to finish with a win.
Valdez was the lone double-digit scorer for the Philippines with 15 while Korea were led by Yerim Go with 23 points and Ha Hyejin with 21./PN
