San felipe: The Philippines bowed to China, 18-25, 21-25, 13-25, Thursday (local time) at the start of the FIVB Girls' U17 World Championship in San Felipe, Chile.

According to Philippines News Agency, Caera Celis delivered a breakthrough debut with Alas Pilipinas, scoring 13 points on 12 attacks and an ace, while Khaira Manzano contributed with two blocks, one attack, and an ace. Despite the loss, Celis expressed optimism, stating, "Losses are part of competition. We have a lot of games to play (and) we'll bounce back tomorrow."

Alas Pilipinas, supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee, is set to face Mexico on Saturday and Tunisia on Sunday, both at 5 a.m. (PH time), before getting a day off. The team will conclude its Pool B matches against Peru at 5 a.m. on Aug. 11 and Venezuela at 2 a.m. on Aug. 12, both PH time. The Philippines struggled with reception, which led to poor passes, awkward sets, and inefficient hitting.

Xyz Rayco, the Philippines' top scorer at the Asian U16, where the team finished fifth in November 2025, was one of the steadier passers and also contributed seven points, all from attacks. Alas Pilipinas coach Edwin Leyva acknowledged the performance was not polished and emphasized the importance of learning from the experience. He noted, "China is a very strong team. We can't control that. We were poor on defense, that we can control. So we have to focus on that during training."

China's Ruihan Chen tallied 12 points on 10 attacks and two blocks, while Sichen Ren added 11 points from eight attacks, two blocks, and an ace. The Chinese team, which won the inaugural U17 crown two years ago, had placed third at the Asian U16, which South Korea won in Amman, Jordan. Yachen Xuan, China's 15-year-old skipper, contributed four blocks to the victory.