Manila – Creamline-Philippines punched a ticket to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup for Women via a 25-18, 25-13, 25-17 romp of South Korea on Thursday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Diana Carlos came through with 12 points, including two blocks, while Jessica Galanza contributed 11 kills as the hosts ended their Pool A campaign with a 2-2 record in third place.
Celine Domingo had three blocks for a nine-point outing, Michele Gumabao had three of her seven points from blocks, while national team debutants Lorie Lyn Bernardo, Pauline Soriano and Rosemarie Vargas combined for seven points.
Still pumped up from their victory over Iran on Wednesday, the Creamline-Philippines displayed its firepower in each set, where they quickly opened up double-digit lead en route to lopsided set wins.
“These two wins are amazing for Philippine volleyball, it’s history—beating Iran and Korea for the last 30 years or more,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
With their back-to-back victories, the Creamline-Philippines will face a familiar foe in powerhouse Thailand, which finished second in Pool B, in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
Regardless of the outcome, the national women’s team is assured of surpassing its ninth place finish in the 2018 edition of AVC Cup for Women held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
“We are so happy that we made it to the quarterfinals. Hopefully, we could have a better performance in the next round. We will try our very best,” said Creamline-Philippines head coach Sherwin Meneses.
Kim Seyul led the way with nine points while Hwang Jimin scored eight points, for the South Koreans, which suffered its fourth consecutive defeat to end the competition in ninth place.
Meanwhile, the other quarterfinal pairings pit Pool A’s No. 1 China against Pool B’s No. 4 Australia, Pool A’s No. 2 Vietnam opposite Pool B’s No. 3 Chinese-Taipei and Pool A’s No. 4 Iran versus Pool B’s No. 1 Japan./PN
