Alas Pilipinas advances to AVC Nations Cup finals at expense of Chinese Taipei

Alas Pilipinas booked a slot in the AVC Nations Cup finals after defeating Chinese Taipei, 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 15-12 in the tournament's semifinals on Friday in Vietnam.

Eya Laure proved to be crucial in the final set as she made six out of her nine points in the said frame alone.

Tied at six in the fifth set, Laure ignited a 3-0 run capped by Fifi Sharma's block to hand the Philippines the lead. Yi-Chi Chang then stopped the dry spell but Laure's attack put Alas at 10.

Sharma then had a service error and Ko-Hui Kan had a block after to put Chinese Taipei within one, but the University of Santo Tomas product again had two out of the Philippines' next three points as Jia De Guzman made an ace in between.

Chinese Taipei then scored back-to-back to trim the deficit, 11-13, but Laure's attack then put the Philippines at match point.

Chang then salvaged one for Chinese Taipei before a successful block touch challenge by the Philippines sealed a date against host country Vietnam in the finals on Saturday night.

Belen had 15 points from 11 attacks and four blocks to lead the Philippines, while Alyssa Solomon and Fifi Sharma added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Chieh Chen led Chinese Taipei with 19 points in the loss. They will face Kazakhstan for the bronze on Saturday before the finals. 

Tournament recap:

• June 7: Philippines 3-0 Mongolia
• June 8: Philippines 3-1 Indonesia
• June 9: Philippines 2-3 Iran
• June 11: Philippines 3-0 New Zealand
• June 12: Philippines 3-0 Kazakhstan
• June 13 | Semis: Philippines 3-2 Chinese Taipei

—JKC, GMA Integrated News