Sep 23, 2026
Alas Pilipinas Women: We’ll be back!
MANILA, Philippines — Ninth place was never the original dream for Alas Pilipinas Women at the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games, where they set out to contend for a medal. However, after early losses in group play ended their quarterfinal hopes, it became the highest possible finish—and one they claimed with authority.
Head coach Taka Minowa challenged the team to reset their focus after dropping matches to powerhouse China (18-25, 22-25, 8-25) and Kazakhstan (29-27, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19). Shifted into the classification stage, the Filipinas were given a new objective: win out and secure ninth place.
They executed the plan flawlessly, sweeping all three of their remaining matches. After decisive victories over Qatar (25-8, 25-2, 25-9) and Mongolia (25-13, 25-11, 25-20), Alas Pilipinas capped off their tournament with a straight-sets win against Hong Kong, 25-21, 25-9, 30-28, at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
Though missing out on the quarterfinals highlighted areas requiring growth—particularly consistency against elite opponents—the team views the experience as a crucial stepping stone.
"Actually, we're happy. Although that wasn't our overall goal in the Asian Games, we're happy with all our wins… what we accomplished as a team and, of course, the learning experience," said outside hitter Angel Canino, who reflected positively on her first Asian Games appearance alongside her veteran teammates.
"It's a huge achievement individually… such an amazing experience to be with my older teammates and to be part of the Philippine national team, because some of them are people I really look up to," she added.
Bella Belen echoed the sentiment, noting that competing against the continent's top squads exposed the gap they need to bridge moving forward.
"It's different. The level of play is really different. We learned so much, especially us younger players," Belen shared. "We know there's still room to improve. We need to elevate our level of play even more."
While the ninth-place finish falls short of their initial podium ambitions, the sweep in the placement round provided both progress and momentum. With young core players like Canino and Belen already setting their sights on future international tournaments, Alas Pilipinas leaves Nagoya with valuable experience and a clearer path toward becoming a true contender in Asia. TMT
