AMMAN, Jordan—The Alas Pilipinas girls team impressed by putting up a gallant stand against defending champion Japan in a 17-25, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25 loss in the Second Asian Volleyball Confederation Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship on Saturday at Princess Sumaya Hall.

Xyz Rayco and Nadeth Herbon introduced themselves on the Asian stage by leading Alas girls’ impressive debut in the U16 championship in front of the Overseas Filipino Workers in Amman cheering for them with AVC and Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara and officials of the Philippine Embassy in Jordan, led by Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos.

Rayco and Herbon led the Philippines’ strong showing in the second set with nine points each to tie the game to one set apiece, but they were dominated by the Japanese in the third frame.

Alas held a 12-9 lead in the fourth after Madele Gale’s ace, only for Ren Sugimoto, Miko Takahashi and Rina Hayasaka to rescue Japan, with Hayasaka drilling two consecutive kills to win their first assignment in Pool B.

“We’ll apply everything we learned in Japan in our next game because we know it’s still going to be a tough fight. We’ll keep giving our all and keep fighting until the end,” said team captain Rayco, a 14-year-old opposite spiker from Saint Michael College of Caraga.

Japan coach Daichi Saegusa was impressed by the Filipino players, especially setter Resty Jane Olaguir, while Sugimoto praised Rayco.

“It was a difficult game because the Philippines was so good,” Saegusa said. “We couldn’t play well, but this match is going to be good for us because we have more games. It was a good opportunity.”

Sugimoto and Takahashi delivered 16 points each for the Japanese, while Hayasaka had 13 points, as they eye a Pool B sweep against Iran on Monday.

Alas U16 coach Edwin Leyva was proud of the girls’ performance, proving that they belong despite the short preparation because most of the players are from different provinces in Luzon, Visaya and Mindanao.

“The team jelled quickly. It wasn’t like what we feared at first, that they might struggle to connect since they came from different places. Our main issue before was communication because of the different dialects, but they managed it well. They played great, and I’m very happy with how they performed,” said Leyva, who also drew contributions from Gale, Merish Beltran and Jhenica Sadia.

“Everybody contributed to the game. Our defense was solid. It was really good. Unfortunately, we lacked a bit of energy, experience, and endurance. But we definitely had what it takes to win.”

Alas tries to reach the quarterfinal, facing Iran in a must-win game on Sunday at 11 p.m. (Philippine time).

“We’re hoping to perform even better in tomorrow’s game against Iran. Like I said before, our goal was to win one or two games in the elimination round, and we’re still working toward that,” Leyva said.