Chinese Taipei advance to semifinals after sweeping Philippines

Alas Pilipinas women's volleyball team saw its 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup run come to an early end after a straight-sets loss to Chinese Taipei women's national volleyball team, 25–16, 25–14, 25–10, on Thursday at the Candon City Arena.

The defeat ended the host nation’s hopes of reaching the semifinals, as they finished Pool A with a 2–3 record. They will now move to the classification round, where they will compete for positions ranging from fifth to seventh place, depending on the remaining pool outcomes.

The result marked a setback for the Philippines following recent strong performances in continental play, including a historic bronze medal in 2024 and a silver-medal finish in 2025 from the earlier Alas core group.

Against Chinese Taipei, Alas struggled to establish momentum as the visitors controlled both sides of the game. Chinese Taipei dominated attacks, 40–18, and held a clear advantage at the net in blocks, 10–3, while also delivering five service aces without reply.

The Taiwanese side effectively contained the Philippines’ key scorers, limiting Alyssa Solomon to six points, Niña Ytang to three, and holding Thea Gagate and Alyssa Valdez to just two points each.

Interim head coach Shaq delos Santos pointed to preparation as a key factor in the result, while stressing the importance of continued growth for the program.

“Siguro malaking factor talaga dito ‘yung preparation namin… kailangan pa ng more time para dito, but we need to accept na ganito talaga ‘yung naging nangyari,” he said.

“But hindi kami mawawalan ng hope kasi gusto namin maging better pa ‘yung volleyball natin,” he added, as Alas Pilipinas shifts focus to the classification round starting Saturday.

Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei finished unbeaten in Pool A with a 4–0 record to secure the first semifinal berth. The team also earned a measure of revenge after being eliminated by the Philippines in last year’s semifinals.

Hsu Wan-Yun led Chinese Taipei with 14 points, built on 13 attacks and one ace, while Chang Yi-Chi and Chen Ciao-En added 13 and 12 points respectively to cap another dominant performance.