Candon city: Alas Pilipinas battles Chinese Taipei as the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women's Volleyball Cup resumes on Thursday at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur. The Philippines ranks third in Pool A with seven points coming from two wins and two losses.

According to Philippines News Agency, Korea and Chinese Taipei have nine points each after winning their three matches, while Australia has five points with two matches to play in the preliminaries. Alas Pilipinas must beat Chinese Taipei - a straight-sets win or four-set victory, to earn a maximum of three points and raise their total to 10.

The Philippines would further boost its semis bid if Korea prevails over Australia and Chinese Taipei. The top two teams from each pool advance to the Final Four, while the remaining teams move on to the classification round.

Every match in the 12-nation tournament presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and the City of Candon headed by Mayor Eric D. Singson counts toward the FIVB World Rankings, making each result crucial for qualification and seedings in future international tournaments. "At this point, we will really give it our all. We have learned a lot, studied a lot, so we will face our fight on Thursday with all our hearts," said skipper Alyssa Valdez in a news release on Wednesday. "It is really different to fight for the country. We are honored, honored," she added.

Coach Shaq de los Santos said the focus is on the match at hand, and not on the team standings. "Good thing, we have many veteran players who also guide. You have Alyssa, Jovelyn (Gonzaga), Ces (Molina), and Royse (Tubino)," added De los Santos, crediting the squad's veterans for helping keep morale high and ensuring the team learns from every setback.