Alas Pilipinas Women put up its strongest showing yet in the 2026 SEA V Cup, pushing eight-time champion Thailand to five sets before absorbing a 17-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-18, 10-15 defeat on Saturday at Dong Anh Gymnasium in Vietnam.
Despite remaining winless after two matches, the Filipinas showed significant improvement, battling back twice to force a deciding fifth set against one of Southeast Asia’s volleyball powerhouses.
The Alas Pilipinas coaching staff made key adjustments after the opening frame, inserting Mars Alba and Alyssa Solomon into the starting lineup in the second set. The move sparked the Philippine offense, with Bella Belen, Vange Alinsug, Thea Gagate, and Fifi Sharma providing crucial support as Alas Pilipinas leveled the match with a 25-19 victory.
Thailand responded in the third set behind Sasisaporn Janthawisut, who fueled a dominant run that gave the defending champions an 18-7 advantage before taking a two-sets-to-one lead.
Alas Pilipinas Shows Tremendous Fight
But Alas Pilipinas refused to go away.
Belen, Solomon, and Eya Laure spearheaded the Filipinas’ fourth-set fightback, combining for timely attacks to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
The Philippines stayed within striking distance early in the decider, but Thailand relied on veterans Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Kaewkalaya Kamulthala in the closing stretch to secure the victory and improve to 2-0.
Thailand remained unbeaten heading into its first-leg finale against host Vietnam, while Alas Pilipinas dropped to 0-2.
The Filipinas will look to end the opening leg on a winning note when they face Indonesia on Sunday at 5 p.m. (Manila time).
