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| photo (c) Volleyball PH Photo Albums |
In their respective semifinal matches, Chinese Taipei lost to South Korea in a thrilling 5 sets: 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 14-25, 10-15. Meanwhile the Philippines snatched a set from China for the first time in history in a heartbreaking 25-23, 14-25, 18-25, 17-25 loss.
The two teams have already met in the Pool E of the second round. Chinese Taipei prevailed in four sets: 21-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-19. Philippines will look to bounce back from the loss together with the electrifying home crowd.
Chinese Taipei's scoring is led by Chen Tzu-Ya and Lee Tzu-Ying, with norms of 12 and 10.4 points per game respectively. Setter and team captain Wu Ching-Ting will orchestrate a team that usually fields all of its players every game. Averaging 6.19 excellent sets per game, she will be aided by their reliable floor defender Xiang-Chen Lai.
The Alyssa Valdez-led Philippine team has found new sources of scoring after NU Bulldogs Jaja Santiago and Myla Pablo registered double digit performances in the loss to China. But they will also have to find consistent points from Valdez' diagonal hitter, Grethcel Soltones. The newly added member of the team, Fil-Japanese Risa Sato is expected to step up her game. Her average of 3.4 points a game is however outscored country's ace setter Jia Morado (3.8 ppg). Rotations of the players will also be crucial for the nationals as their substitutions have been quite predictable in the past few games. We've seen Ella de Jesus replace Myla Pablo for backrow defense purposes, EJ Laure going in for Soltones in the latter part of the game. Will we finally see Ria Meneses in extended minutes? Or Jhoana Maraguinot be able to play another game after a short stint against Iran?
Aside from the experiences our athletes have gained, our campaign would be even sweeter if we can win our next two games and finish 5th overall in our own soil.
Catch the exciting action at 12nn, with live telecast at Aksyon TV.
