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A Philippine squad represented by a club champion missing its key players put up a gallant stand against a young Vietnam team before falling, 25-19, 25-17, 31-29, on Sunday in its opening match in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup for Women at PhilSports Arena.
The depleted Creamline Cool Smashers, who missed Alyssa Valdez, Risa Sato and setter Jia de Guzman, sputtered after strong starts in the first two sets and watched their desperate fight in the third fizzle out to absorb the setback.
The Filipinos, who were also without coach Sherwin Meneses, fought back from a 17-11 deficit and were at set point twice in the third frame, but just couldn’t close things out there.
