SANTIAGO, Chile — Built on just days of preparation and modest financial support, Caera Celis, Xyz Rayco, Jhaynna Bulandres, Irish Mahinay, Khaira Manzano and the rest of Alas Pilipinas Girls reached uncharted territory.
At the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship, Alas Pilipinas—supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, and Asics—showed the talent and resolve to compete among the best, entering the tournament ranked No. 25 and finishing in 15th spot.
The Alas Pilipinas Girls closed the tournament on a high, shaking off early troubles to defeat Czechia, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-22, on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Parque Estadio Nacional.
The victory capped a campaign that included a historic berth in the Round of 16 and gave the Philippines its best finish in any volleyball world championship.
Celis noted that while every moment of the tournament was special, nothing beats the feeling of winning.
“We learned a lot from every game, even when we made mistakes,” Celis said. “But the victories were for sure the most fun we had here.”
Celis, who scored 25 against Czechia, had a tournament average of 18 points per match. She matched the tournament’s third-highest total score of 162 and was fourth in total attack points at 141.
Rayni Merab Mondesi Arias of the Dominican Republic topped both departments with 217 attack points and 235 total.
Rayco, meanwhile, matched the ninth-best total in the tournament for successful receives at 38, while averaging 9.33 points. Nadeth Herbon matched the 14th-best total at 33. Chinese Taipei’s Ting-yi Chen had the highest total of 88.
Herbon, who played outside hitter twice while taking the role of libero in the other matches, was 11th in the digs department with 95. Peru’s libero Vannia Giordana Adrianzen Ocrospoma led the field with 166.
Mahinay had 15 aces to match the sixth-highest total. Italy’s Beatrice Scalzotto topped the list with 23.
While they are being celebrated back home for breaking new ground, the team that also features Madele Gale, Megan Hernandez, Sharina Rhyza Lleses, Nadeth Herbon and Resty Olaguir were quick to keep the focus on the experience they shared rather than comparisons with previous national teams.
The Alas Pilipinas team featuring Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas came within a couple of points of reaching the Round of 16 before finishing 19th at last year’s FIVB Men’s World Championship. The 1974 Philippine women’s team placed 18th in the 1974 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship in Mexico.
Frances Ramos, Jello Mauricio, Jhenica Sadia and Taj Arkhea Teves also played key roles as Alas Pilipinasmade it to the Round of 16 with a 2-3 record, beating world No. 8 Mexico in four sets and sweeping past No. 20 Tunisia.
The USA won the gold medal match against Turkiye, 25-23, 25-11, 25-23.
