Asian Games: PH bows to Kazakhstan, to play Indonesia for 7th place in volleyball

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JAKARTA—(UPDATED) The Philippines displayed tremendous heart and fighting spirit but still bowed to a taller Kazakhstan squad in five heartbreaking sets at the Indoor Volleyball Arena in the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex on Friday afternoon.

In their first game of the classification phase of the women’s volleyball competition, the Kazakhs hacked out a hard-earned 25-11, 22-25, 25-15, 19-25, 16-14 triumph over the Filipinas.

That put Kazakhstan on a collision course with Vietnam for fifth place in the 2018 Asian Games. Vietnam had earlier beaten Indonesia in four sets.

That means that the Philippines will play host Indonesia for seventh place, in a match scheduled Saturday morning.

“Well, we're glad na na-push namin sila, binigyan namin sila ng challenge. And we did the best we could, kaso siyempre kinapos, bilog 'yung bola. Pero overall happy naman kami sa team effort na pinakita namin,” setter Jia Morado said after the game.

Jaja Santiago led the Philippines with 19 points on 17 kills and a pair of kill blocks, while Alyssa Valdez flashed her all-around game in tallying 13 points, 18 excellent receptions, and 24 digs. Mylene Paat shone in an off-the-bench role, with 14 points and 15 receptions.

The Kazakhs’ superior blocking was too much for the Filipinas in the opening set, with their foes registering six kill blocks in the first frame alone. Reception was also an issue for the Philippines, as Kazakhstan tallied four aces in the set.

But the Philippines adjusted in Set 2, with Morado and Paat in particular providing a change of pace off the bench.

It was a neck-and-neck affair in the second set, with the Philippines claiming a 22-19 lead only for Kazakhstan to knot the count after a pair of errors by the Filipinas and a kill by Sana Anarkulova.

The Philippines displayed its composure in the closing stretch, with Paat finishing off a combination play before Anarkulova committed an attack error. Santiago then finished off the Kazakhs with an ace.

But Kazakhstan recovered in the third set, racing to a 16-7 lead before holding off the Philippines’ charge late.

It was the Pinays’ turn to dominate in Set 4, as they led by as much as 10 points, 17-7. Kazakhstan charged back late, trimming the deficit to just five points, 23-18, but a running kill from Maika Ortiz and a powerful hit from Valdez sent the match to a deciding frame.

The Philippines appeared headed for a remarkable triumph after the squad surged to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set, with Kazakhstan succumbing to unforced errors. However, back-to-back hits by Yana Petrenko pushed Kazakhstan ahead, 11-10, and it was a back-and-forth tussle from there.

A crosscourt hit by Valdez knotted the count at 13, and after Paat was blocked, Kristina Karapetan sent her serve to the net for another deuce.

Alessya Safronova came through with a crosscourt hit, however, and in the final rally of the game she stifled Santiago at the net to clinch the victory for Kazakhstan.

“Going into today's game, we really wanted to win. Siguro sa first set medyo hindi siya visible, or hindi natin nakita, but definitely noong nabigyan na tayo ng opportunity to fight in the last set, binigay naman talaga 'yung lahat,” said Valdez.

Petrenko led Kazakhstan with 18 points, while Sana Arnarkulova contributed 15 markers despite sitting out the fourth set due to what appeared to be a mild shoulder injury.

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