The Philippine women's volleyball team barged into the win column of the 2018 Asian Games after sweeping Hong Kong, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22, Thursday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
This marks the Philippines' first victory in the volleyball competition of the Asian Games since the country last participated in the 1982 edition in India.
The Philippine team rebounded from back-to-back losses for a 1-2 record. This improved the Philippines' chances of finishing in the top four of Pool A, which comes with a ticket to the quarterfinals. Japan (2-0) and Thailand (1-0) are currently on top, while Indonesia sports a 1-1 slate. Hong Kong, on the other hand, remained winless after two outings.
"When we watched Indonesia versus Hong Kong, we knew we could beat them because we know the level of volleyball in the Philippines," said head coach Shaq delos Santos about beating Hong Kong. "We are in the quarterfinals but we want a better position so we need to beat Indonesia."
Alyssa Valdez topped with 14 points built on ten spikes and four aces, while Jaja Santiago had eight kills, two aces, and two blocks for 12 points.
The Philippines broke an 8-all deadlock in the first frame with a run capped by back-to-back aces from Valdez that made it 16-11. Santiago later on strung together three straight points to extend the lead to seven, 21-14, before Kim Fajardo and Mika Reyes finished the set off.
The Filipinos carried over the momentum to the second period as they raced to a 17-10 start. Hong Kong inched within three but the Philippines held on to impose a two-to-nothing set advantage.
Mylene Paat scored crucial hits that allowed the Philippines to stay in the driver's seat in a tight third set. An emphatic block from Majoy Baron gave a 21-18 cushion but Hong Kong refused to give up and managed to crawl within a point. The two teams traded service errors before Santiago launched a successful serve that brought PH to match point that paved the way for Kianna Dy to clinch the game with a kill.
The Philippines will cap off the group stages with a battle against host country Indonesia on Saturday at 8 p.m.