Strong Group spikers cop silver in Formosa Invitational tilt

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ Strong Group Athletics bagged the silver medal in the just-concluded Formosa Women’s Volleyball Invitational Tournament at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Chinese Taipei.

Composed of the best players from Farm Fresh and ZUS Coffee, the Filipinas gatecrashed into the finals but ran into Japan’s Aleeza Aichi and absorbed a 25-17, 25-19, 25-15 defeat and settled for a runner-up finish.

SGA split its two matches in the bracket phase, dropping a four-setter to Thailand’s Supreme Tip Chonburi-E.Tech and ousting Chinese Taipei’s Earthpower EPV that forced a three-way tie in their pool.

But the Filipinas emerged with the highest tiebreaker — via set ratio — and claimed a spot to the finals against the Japanese, who ruled their group.

Aleeza Aichi was just too much for SGA in the end.