Metro Manila, Philippines – Alas Pilipinas Women dropped out of medal contention after absorbing a 29-27, 24-26, 23-25, 19-25 loss to Kazakhstan in the 20th Asian Games held at the Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium in Aichi, Japan on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Coming off a valiant stand against defending champion China, the Philippines looked determined to bounce back big time after grabbing the tightly contested first set.

But it was downhill for Alas as it lost its grip the rest of the way, while Kazakhstan built enough cushion to fend off any comeback attempts in the succeeding sets.

Angel Canino topscored for the Philippines with 24 points, while Alyssa Solomon contributed 20 points for the national team.

Alas’ loss sent China and Kazakhstan into the knockout round, while it was relegated to the classification stage.

The Philippines will finish anywhere from ninth to 14th place in this edition of the Asian Games – its lowest-ever finish in women’s volleyball at the quadrennial showpiece.