(UPDATED) The Philippines secured a place in the quarterfinals via a 25-18, 25-13, 25-17 romp over South Korea in the AVC Cup for Women preliminary round Thursday at the Philsports Arena.

Tots Carlos had 12 points, including 2 blocks, while Jema Galanza had 11 kills as the hosts ended their Pool A campaign with a 2-2 record in third place.

Coach Sherwin Meneses, who was part of the coaching staff of the national men's volleyball team which bagged the historic silver medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, was delighted with the accomplishment.

• AVC Cup: Philippines grabs first win vs Iran

"We are so happy that we made it to the quarterfinals. Hopefully, we could have a better performance in the next round. We will try our very best," said Meneses, who recently steered Creamline to a Premier Volleyball League title two weeks ago.

The Philippines will face a familiar foe in Thailand, which finished second in Pool B, in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.

Regardless of the outcome, the national women's team is assured of surpassing its 9th place finish in the 2018 edition held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

• AVC Cup: Japan completes sweep of Pool B

“These two wins are amazing for Philippine volleyball, it’s history—beating Iran and Korea for the last 30 years or more,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Meanwhile, China bucked a second-set loss to repulse Iran, 26-24, 19-25, 25-10, 25-13, to rule Pool A.

Captain Wang Yifan led the Chinese with 25 points, including 10 in the third set, while Wang Wenhan (13), Zhuang Yushan (12) and Hu Mingyuan (10) also produced double-digit numbers.

Perfect in four Pool A matches, China will play Pool B No. 4 Australia in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Iran, which lost to hosts Philippines Wednesday, ended up its preliminary round stint with a 1-3 record.

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