Out of the medal race, Alas Pilipinas Women still played as if every point mattered. The Filipinas swept Qatar, 25-8, 25-2, 25-9, on Sunday, Sept. 20, in the Asian Games classification round at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Japan.

The 52-minute rout was the Philippines’ first win of the Aichi-Nagoya Games. It came after pool-stage losses to China and Kazakhstan and moved Alas to the next stage of the classification round.

Alas Pilipinas vs. Qatar: Amie Provido Scores 19 in Asian Games Rout

Alas took control early. The Filipinas raced to a 12-1 lead in Set 1, and Shaina Nitura and Alyssa Solomon finished the frame with the last two points.

Set 2 was even more one-sided. Alas ran off 19 straight points before Qatar finally got on the board, and the set ended 25-2. Bella Belen ripped a down-the-line kill during the stretch.

Middle blocker Amie Provido led Alas with 19 points, built on 11 attacks, four blocks and four aces. Nitura added 10 points, while Niña Ytang scored seven and Solomon six.

Philippines vs. Mongolia Next: Alas Eyes Ninth-Place Battle at Asian Games

Alas also dominated the stat sheet. It won the attack battle, 39-8, and held an 11-2 edge in blocks. The Filipinas served eight aces and made only eight errors.

Setter Mars Alba fired three aces and delivered 30 excellent sets. Veteran setter Jia De Guzman played sparingly but served an ace to reach match point. Belen then sealed the win with a combination attack.

Eya Laure and Angel Canino sat out, yet Alas never lost control. Sumaia Almadhoun led Qatar with four points.

Alas faces Mongolia on Monday, Sept. 21, in another classification match. The winner moves on to the battle for ninth place, while Qatar will try to avoid a 14th-place finish against Kyrgyzstan.