Alas Pilipinas women celebrate a point during the AVC Nations Cup semifinals against Chinese Taipei. The Filipinos advanced to the final. –AVC PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — For the second straight year, Alas Pilipinas’ Jia De Guzman and Angel Canino placed among top performers in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Nations Cup.
After making a historic finals appearance in the AVC for the first time in 64 years, three Alas stars were honored in the tournament awards, including first-time AVC awardee Dell Palomata, who was named as Best Middle Blocker.
READ: Alas Pilipinas takes home silver as Vietnam rules AVC Nations Cup
Alas got dominated by world-class and three-peat champion Vietnam, 15-25, 17-25, 14-25, in the AVC Women’s Nations Cup Final on Saturday at Dong Anh Arena in Hanoi.
For being a consistent force at the net, PLDT star Palomata won her first-ever overseas individual award.
De Guzman emerged as the tournament’s Best Setter for the second consecutive year after leading Alas to a historic silver medal finish — the program’s best finish in the AVC and its first campaign as runner-up since the 1997 Southeast Asian Games.
HIGHLIGHTS: Alas Pilipinas vs Vietnam AVC Nations Cup FINAL
Playing in a different position last year as the tournament’s Best Opposite Hitter, Canino continues to rise as she earned her second Nations Cup award as the Best Outside Spiker this time.
The La Salle Lady Spiker emerged as Alas’ leading scorer for the second straight year.
Canino, De Guzman, and Palomata have been part of Alas’ rapid growth since winning the bronze last year in the former Challenge Cup at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
De Guzman was the third-best playmaker in the pool stage with 24 excellent sets in five matches. Canino finished 12th in scoring with 74 points off 62 attacks, seven blocks, and five aces, averaging 12.3 points in six games, while Palomata normed 5.83 points per game, including 1.83 blocks.
MVP Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen headlined the dream team, which had three Alas players, as the Vietnamese star also earned the Best Opposite Spiker award.
Tran Thi Thanh Thuy was also one of the two Best Outside Spikers, while Chinese Taipei’s Kan Ko-Hui got the other middle blocker award.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Khan Dang was the Best Libero.