Alas Pilipinas stays in semis hunt, overpowers Kyrgyzstan

Alas Pilipinas during a win over Kyrgyzstan in the AVC Women’s Cup.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur — Alas Pilipinas vented its ire on Kyrgyzstan, 25-9, 25-11, 25-17, to keep its semifinal hopes alive in the 2026 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Cup on Monday at Candon City Arena here.

Licking the wounds of their five-set defeat to Australia, Alas, led by Thea Gagate and Jov Gonzaga, came out firing to demolish winless Kyrgyzstan in just 60 minutes and improve its Pool A record to 2-1.

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READ: Alas comes up short vs Aussies despite big games from Alyssas

Cla Loresco for the win!#AVCWomensCup @inquirersports pic.twitter.com/RL0iAuKwDM

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) June 8, 2026

Gagate had 11 points off eight kills, two blocks and an ace. Gonzaga chipped in 10. Alyssa Valdez, who struggled offensively against Australia, bounced back with nine points, scoring six in the opening set, while Ces Molina added eight.

“We just focused on the mistakes we made in our last game and found ways to address them. We wanted to recover and help bring back everyone’s confidence,” said Gagate in Filipino.

It took only 17 minutes for Alas to win the opening set, where Kyrgyzstan only scored one attack point and got the rest of its points from the home team’s eight errors.

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Valdez mounted a 14-4 start before Kyle Negrito and Thea Gagate stretched it to a 21-8 spread. Molina closed out the set, conspiring with Gonzaga.

Delos Santos had a chance to field Cla Loresco, who pushed the margin to 21-7 lead before nailing the set-winning hit for a 14-point demolition, and Ara Galang, Tots Carlos, and Tin Ubaldo.

READ: Niña Ytang stresses need for improved Alas Pilipinas chemistry

Alyssa Solomon, coming from a 23-point explosion, only played in the third set. She kept Kyrgyzstan at bay with a 22-12 lead before Galang and Loresco put on the finishing touches.

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Loresco had four points. Galang and Solomon had three each, while Kyle Negrito also scored four while running the plays for Alas.

Alas needs to win its last two games, beginning against powerhouse South Korea on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before a break.

The Filipino Spikers wrap up the pool stage against Chinese Taipei on Thursday.

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Kyrgyzstan dropped to 0-3, with Aiturgan Aitbekova being the highest pointer with four.

The Kyrgyz only scored 12 attacks points against Alas’ 48, but had more blocks, 6-4.