The Nationals put up a gallant stand against defending champion Vietnam but still succumbed, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14, to settle for the silver medal in the 2025 AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup at the Dong Anh Gymnasium in Hanoi, Vietnam Friday evening, June 14. Alas Pilipinas (AVC)
By Mark Rey Montejo
Published Jun 14, 2025 11:45 pm
Alas Pilipinas may have fallen short of making it on top, but it still showed a glimpse of a brighter future.
The Nationals put up a gallant stand against defending champion Vietnam but still succumbed, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14, to settle for the silver medal in the 2025 AVC Women's Volleyball Nations Cup at the Dong Anh Gymnasium in Hanoi, Vietnam Friday evening, June 14.
The Filipina spikers dug deep into their bag of tricks but still couldn’t topple a powerhouse squad like Vietnam, which banked on the lethal duo of Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and Thi Bich Tuyen Nguyen in securing their third straight title.
Despite the defeat, the Philippines copped its highest finish in an AVC-sanctioned competition, surpassing its bronze-medal performance in the 2024 edition that the country hosted.
Prior to the runner-up honors, the Nationals ended the preliminaries as the No. 1 seed in Pool B before beating Chinese Taipei, 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 15-13, in a nerve-wracking semifinal clash.
“We’re happy for second place, we’re on the way … it’s a process,” said Brazilian head coach Jorge Souza De Brito minutes after that loss to Vietnam, a team ranked 31 rungs higher than the Philippines at No. 25 in the world.
Thanh Thúy starred for the crowd favorites by erupting for 20 points on 16 attacks, two blocks and two aces, while Nguyen, who named as tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite Hitter, posted 17 points. Backing them up were Thi Uyen Nguyen and Thuy Tran Thi Bich, who combined for 19 points.
Alyssa Solomon led the Nationals with eight points, while Shai Nitura chipped in six points. Fifi Sharma and Angel Canino had four points apiece.
Jia De Guzman and Canino took home individual awards by snaring the Best Setter and Outside Hitter plums for the second consecutive year. Canino, meanwhile, shared the award with Vietnam's Thanh Thúy, while Dell Palomata was named as Best Middle Blocker alongside Chinese Taipei's Kan Ko-hui.
“This silver medal is amazing, it means everything,” said de Guzman. “It’s hard to see the growth of the sport [in the country] without this result achieved by the team.”
“We had to give it our best because after getting the bronze last year and the silver this time, we’re inspired to go back to training and keep working together as a team and to keep going for this long term program,” she added.