Alas Pilipinas Women completed a remarkable turnaround in the 2026 SEA Women’s V Cup, defeating Indonesia, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19, 33-31, on Sunday at Chiang Mai Stadium in Thailand to secure the Philippines’ first silver medal in the tournament.
After going winless in the opening leg, the Filipinas bounced back in the second leg and capped their campaign with a hard-fought victory over Indonesia—the same team that ended their four-year bronze medal streak in the first leg.
Thriller Fourth Set Caps Off Historic Showing for Alas Pilipinas
The Philippines appeared to have the match in hand after taking a 2-1 lead, but Indonesia pushed Alas to the limit in a marathon fourth set.
The Indonesians reached set point at 24-22 after Arsela Nuari Purnama scored off the block, but Bella Belen kept the Philippines alive with a wide-open attack before Fifi Sharma delivered a crucial block on Ersandrina Devega to force deuce.
Medi Yoku briefly put Indonesia back at set point, but Sharma answered with a quick attack before Eya Laure fired a cross-court winner to give Alas its first match point at 26-25.
Indonesia refused to fold, forcing the set deeper into extra points. Alas Pilipinas survived four more set points before finally closing out the match.
Alyssa Solomon tied the score at 31-all with a powerful cross-court attack before Sharma came up with another key block on Devega. The Indonesian hitter then sent her next attack long, finally handing the Philippines the historic silver medal.
“We were just saying that nothing to expect. So I just told everybody to focus on ourselves and not focus on the opponent’s side because what we can control is only on our side. And so, they did it,” said Alas Pilipinas head coach Taka Minowa.
“We just trained for 15 days and came to Vietnam and Thailand [legs]. For sure, we’re just starting the program, and we have a lot of opportunities, a lot of space to improve [after] this game,” he added.
Solomon led all scorers with 19 points, all coming from attacks, as the Philippines avenged its four-set loss to Indonesia in the opening leg.
Belen delivered a double-double with 17 points and 15 excellent digs, while Laure also scored 17 points on 14 attacks and 3 blocks, along with 8 excellent digs. Dell Palomata chipped in 9 points.
Justine Jazareno and Dawn Catindig anchored the defense with 15 and 14 excellent digs, respectively.
Alas Pilipinas Takes Control Early
Alas Pilipinas set the tone from the opening set, turning an 11-10 deficit into a commanding 22-11 lead with a 12-0 run before closing out the frame to take the early advantage.
Indonesia answered in the second set to level the match, but the Filipinas regained control in the third. From a 9-all tie, Alas pulled away to a 15-10 lead, with Palomata making her presence felt at the net with timely blocks.
The Philippines maintained its cushion to take a 2-1 lead and move within one set of the silver medal before Indonesia mounted its final challenge in the fourth.
Purnama led Indonesia with 19 points and 9 excellent digs, while Yoku added 18 points and 17 excellent digs.
Alas Pilipinas will have a month off to prepare for the Asian Games, slated in Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.
