The Philippines bowed out of the 2nd Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s U16 Championship after falling to Chinese Taipei, 14-25, 21-25, 15-25, in the Final 8 round on Wednesday night at the Prince Hamzah Sports Hall in Amman, Jordan.
Team captain Xyz Rayco sparked a second-set rally that gave the Filipinas a 17-12 advantage, but Chinese Taipei regained control behind Chan Tzu-Yun and Chang Yun-Chen to sweep the match. Chan led all scorers with 18 points, while Chang added 17.
Chinese Taipei and Japan, which earlier swept Thailand 25-19, 25-16, 25-19, both advanced to the semifinals and secured slots in the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship in Chile.
“It’s a bit disappointing because we really prepared for this game, but it didn’t turn out the way we hoped. Still, we’re grateful because we gave our best despite what happened,” said Rayco, who finished with 12 points.
Nadeth Herbon contributed 11 points, setter Resty Jane Olaguir added four, and libero Frances Ramos tallied 15 digs on defense.
“The team’s energy kind of died down. Volleyball is a game of emotion and momentum. When we’re happy and communicating, that’s when we play our best. Unfortunately, our energy dropped during crucial points,” said Alas coach Edwin Leyva.
Composed mostly of provincial standouts, Alas Pilipinas reached the Final 8 after sweeping Iran in the preliminaries. The team will next face Thailand at 4 p.m. Thursday (Philippine time) in the classification round for 5th to 8th places.