(UPDATED) The Philippine women's volleyball team lost via straight sets against China in the AVC Cup for Women on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.

But the nationals managed to put up a huge fight against the defending champions in the third set, before yielding in a 16-25, 22-25, 20-25 defeat.

Jia De Guzman and Tots Carlos led the Philippines, which is represented by PVL champion Creamline.

"Going into this game we were expecting them to be one of the strongest teams in the world. We wanted to get much experience as we could and we gave the best fight we could give today. I'm proud of my teammates," said De Guzman, who missed the nationals' game against Vietnam.

It was the Philippines' second loss after succumbing to Vietnam last Sunday 19-25, 17-25, 19-31.

The Filipinas showed improved defense this time, which lead to a more competitive match against China.

"Lahat naman po nagperform especially sa defense. Sobrang proud ako sa teammates ko. Lumaban po talaga kami para sa bayan," said Kyla Atienza.

Carlos topscored for the Pinays with 15 points, while Michelle Gumabao, whose 2 straight points gave the Philippines' a 16-14 lead against China in the third set, finished with 11.

Jemma Galanza also had 11 markers.

Wu Mengie led the the way for the Chinese squad with 24 points.

The Philippines is set to take on Iran on Wednesday at 7 p.m. followed by another match against South Korea.

"We really had to up our defense for today's game. That's something I'm sure will help us in our back-to-back games," said De Guzman.