 |
| Angel Canino and Vanie Gandler PNVF |
MANILA––Alas Pilipinas started their AVC Women's Nations Cup campaign with a 25–18, 25–16, 25–14 win against Mongolia at Dong Ahn Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday afternoon.
Vanie Gandler tallied 16 points, including 13 attacks, to lead the way for Alas, while Angel Canino finished with 11 markers and Eya Laure added seven points.
Meanwhile, consensus PVL Draft number one pick Bella Belen also accumulated six points, including two straight points to finish Mongolia off in the third set.
Dell Palomata and Thea Gagate each had six markers, too.
Team captain Jia De Guzman revealed their struggle to scout the Mongolians since they did not play in the AVC Challenge Cup.
"We're going in blind today because the latest video we could find was last year," said de Guzman, who registered 10 excellent sets.
"So we just relied on our training and system today, and thankfully it went our way."
Alas joined opening day winners Kazakhstan and Iran at the top of the standings and will face Indonesia Sunday afternoon.
With the win against Mongolia, the Nationals have already moved up their world rankings to 50th from 52nd last January.
Follow him on X: @gilpuyatstation
