By Jean Malanum
MANILA – Alas Pilipinas seeks to keep its semifinal bid alive against New Zealand on Wednesday in the AVC (Asian Volleyball Confederation) Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The match is set at 4 p.m. (PH time) at Dong Anh Arena.
After bowing to Iran, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15 Monday, the Philippines must hurdle New Zealand and Kazakhstan on Thursday.
Angel Canino said they have a big chance against New Zealand, which survived Mongolia, 25-22, 25-22, 10-25, 20-25, 15-13, also on Monday.
“Jia [Morado-de Guzman, team captain] keeps our spirits up. She told us that we have more matches coming up and that we keep our chins up — we fight to the end,” Canino said during the tournament’s rest day Tuesday, as quoted in a news release.
“Whatever outcome we had in this tournament, we’ve continued to learn and improve,” added Canino, a former University Athletic Association of the Philippines top rookie and Most Valuable Player.
Alas Pilipinas coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito told his players not to give up.
“The mindset is to always fight hard,” he said.
Kazakhstan and Iran have similar 3-0 records in Pool B, while Indonesia and Mongolia are winless.
Host Vietnam leads Pool A with a 2-0 card, followed by Chinese-Taipei (2-1), Australia (1-1), Hong Kong (1-2) and India (0-2).
The top two teams from each group advance to the final four. (PNA)
