MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas just secured the country's first-ever semifinals entry in any Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) tournament.

This, after the Philippine national women's volleyball team dominated Iran, 25-16, 25-13, 25-15, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

With the win, the national volleybelles rose to 3-0 in Pool A, securing a top two finish in the eliminations that merit a semifinals berth.

"This is the first time that a Philippine team—by any gender—has ever made it to an AVC competition semifinals," said PNVF president Ramon "Tats" Suzara.

After taking down Australia, India, and Iran, the Jorge Souza de Brito-mentored team now looks to sweep the preliminaries as it faces the winless Taiwan on May 26, at the same venue.

With a 3-0 start, Alas Pilipinas also moved higher in the world rankings, jumping from 62nd to 57th.

Australia (2-1), India (2-2), and Iran (1-2) look to book the last semifinals ticket in Pool A since only the top two teams in the eliminations will advance to the next round.

In pool B, Vietnam already clinched a semifinals seat with a 3-0 card, while Hong Kong (2-1) and Kazakhstan (2-1) clash for that last Final Four spot.

Read The Rest at :