Vietnam gave a stern reminder to the Philippine women’s national volleyball who is the boss in the AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup, defending its title via straight sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14, Saturday night in Hanoi.

The gold medal match concluded a splendid campaign by Alas Pilipinas on its first international final since the 1997 Southeast Asian Games. Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen led the three-time champions with 20 points while superstar Tran Thi Thanh Thuy added 17 points. Opposite spiker Alyssa Solomon led Alas with eight points while rookie Shaina Nitura added six points, all scored in the third set.

The Philippines not only had its best finish in the Nations Cup, but its best record with five wins and two losses.

Apart from last night’s five-set nailbiter versus Taiwan in the semifinals, the Philippines had breakthrough wins against long-time ASEAN tormentor Indonesia in a convincing four-setter, and Central Asian power Kazakhstan in a dominant straight set win.

In addition, the Philippines had comfortable straight set victories against Mongolia and New Zealand.

With its championship win, Vietnam has automatically qualified for the 2026 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship.