The Philippine women's volleyball team escaped India in the quarterfinals, 25-22, 26-28, 11-25, 29-27, 18-16, to remain in contention in the 2023 ASEAN Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup for Women on Wednesday in Indonesia.
Shaya Adorador sent the Filipinas to a 9-6 cushion in the crucial fifth set before the Indians notched four straight points to retake a 10-9 lead. Aiza Maizo-Pontillas then drilled back-to-back attacks to give the Philippines momentum with an 11-10 upper hand.
India got the first match point, 14-13, but an off speed attack from Adorador and a block from setter Djanel Cheng gave the Filipinas two match points, 16-15. Adrador's down-the-line kill made it another match point for the Philippines, 17-16, as Cheng's ace delivered the winning point.
Djanel Cheng capped the comeback with an ice-cold service ace amid India's best efforts to avert a late meltdown.
In the last three meetings of the Asian nations dating back from 2013 and 2015, the Philippines failed to win a single set.
But this did not faze the young core of a new-look Philippine squad with a battle-tested veteran leader in Aiza Maizo-Pontillas at the helm.
The Petro Gazz spiker led all scorers with 24 markers on top of an equally impressive 23-point outing from Foton's Shaya Adorador.
The Philippines will still face Australia on June 23 at 5:30 p.m. They need to finish at the top two in order to book a semifinals spot.
