Alas Pilipinas Women secured their fourth straight bronze medal in the 2025 Southeast Asia V.League after overcoming an early scare and sweeping Indonesia 25-17, 25-17, 28-26 on Sunday in Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
The Nationals faced a tense moment early in the match when Alyssa Solomon went down with a left knee injury while attempting to save a crosscourt attack at 17-10 in the first set. Solomon was stretchered off but made a determined return to the bench by the second set, turning what could have been a setback into a rallying point for the team.
Despite tough losses earlier in the tournament against regional powerhouses Vietnam and Thailand, the Philippines showed resilience and composure to close out the match in straight sets, earning their sixth overall third-place finish in the regional competition—formerly known as the Asian Grand Prix since its inception in 2019.
The third set proved challenging as Indonesia jumped to an 18-21 lead, fueled by key plays from Mediol Stiovanny Yoku and Ersandrina Devega. But the Philippines refused to fold, with clutch hits from Angel Canino and Akari's Fifi Sharma sparking a comeback. Eya Laure then delivered two consecutive attacks to tie the set at 22-all.
Indonesia looked poised to push the match to a fourth set after Laure committed a service error, but the Nationals sealed the win with a series of critical plays: three powerful attacks from Capital1's Bella Belen, a crucial block by PLDT's Dell Palomata, and an out-of-bounds crosscourt return from Devega.
Earlier, the second set saw the Nationals break an 8-all deadlock with a decisive 9-2 run, anchored by Laure’s two-point streak and Canino’s timely block, extending their lead to 17-10. In the first set, Solomon spearheaded the offense with a through-the-block attack, a block, and an ace to help push the score from 12-9 to a commanding 17-10 advantage, eventually closing out the set.
With this victory, Alas Pilipinas Women now turn their focus to upcoming tune-up matches against the world No. 10 Dominican Republic, who are preparing for the 2025 FIVB Women’s World Championship.
