By NIKOLE JAVIER
Alas Pilipinas’ Jia De Guzman and Angel Canino were honored for their outstanding performances in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
De Guzman and Canino were named Best Setter and Best Opposite Spiker, respectively, at the conclusion of the weeklong tournament.
The Filipina duo significantly helped the Philippines in dominating its preliminary campaign with a perfect 4-0 record that propelled them to advance to a historic semifinal appearance in an AVC-sanctioned tournament.
De Guzman was coming off a championship victory with her club team Denso Airybees in Japan V Cup, while the young Canino produced solid games despite La Salle’s stunning exit in the UAAP Season 86.
While De Guzman was comfortably leading the newly-assembled squad as expected from her, Canino had to be converted into an opposite spiker to fill the void in Alas Pilipinas.
Meanwhile, Bich Tuyen Nguyen Thi was hailed as the Most Valuable Player of the competition after leading Vietnam to a perfect finish and eventual gold medalists.
Kazakhstan’s skipper Sana Anarkulova and Australia’s Caitlin Tipping wound up as the Best Outside Hitters following dominance in their respective groups.
Yuliya Yakimova of Kazakhstan and Thuy Le Thanh of Vietnam were named as the Best Middle Blockers, while Viet Khanh Dang Nguyen nabbed the Best Libero award to round out the list for the individual recognition.
