Alas PH U17 girls cap historic finish with victory over Czechia

SANTIAGO, Chile—Alas Pilipinas Girls capped a breakthrough run in the FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship with a four-set victory over Czechia on Sunday, securing 15th place and the Philippines’ best finish in a volleyball world championship.

Caera Celis scored 25 points as the Philippines overcame a slow start to beat Czechia, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-22, at Parque Estadio Nacional.

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The Filipinos entered the tournament ranked No. 25 and, despite having only days to prepare and working with modest financial support, advanced to the Round of 16 before finishing 15th.

“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 emerged as one of the tournament’s leading scorers, averaging 18 points per match. She finished with 162 points, tied for third overall, and ranked fourth in attacks with 141 points.

The Dominican Republic’s Rayni Merab Mondesi Arias led both categories with 217 attack points and 235 total points.

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Xyz Rayco also made her mark, finishing tied for ninth in successful receptions with 38 while averaging 9.33 points per match.

Nadeth Herbon, who played outside hitter twice and libero in the other matches, had 33 successful receptions to tie for 14th and ranked 11th in digs with 95.

Chinese Taipei’s Chen Ting-yi led the reception category with 88, while Peru libero Vannia Giordana Adrianzen Ocrospoma topped the tournament with 166 digs.

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Irish Mahinay, meanwhile, finished with 15 aces, tied for sixth overall. Italy’s Beatrice Scalzotto led the tournament with 23.

The individual numbers complemented a historic team campaign for the Philippines, which reached the Round of 16 with a 2-3 record highlighted by a four-set victory over world No. 8 Mexico and a sweep of No. 20 Tunisia.

Frances Ramos, Jello Mauricio, Jhenica Sadia and Taj Arkhea Teves also played key roles alongside Celis, Rayco, Jhaynna Bulandres, Mahinay, Khaira Manzano, Madele Gale, Megan Hernandez, Sharina Rhyza Lleses, Herbon and Resty Olaguir.

The team was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Asics.

Despite breaking new ground, the Filipinos preferred to focus on the experience they gained together rather than compare their achievement with previous Philippine teams.

The Philippine team featuring Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas finished 19th at last year’s FIVB Men’s World Championship after coming within a few points of advancing to the Round of 16. The Philippine women’s team placed 18th at the 1974 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship in Mexico.

The United States won the U17 world title with a 25-23, 25-11, 25-23 victory over Turkiye in the gold-medal match.