MANILA, Philippines — Angel Canino and Alas Pilipinas soaked in all the lessons in their five-set meltdown to Iran.

Alas was two points away from its third straight win after Vanie Gandler’s clutch ace, 13-11, but the Filipino Spikers lost steam and absorbed their first defeat at the hands of the Iranians, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 13-15, on Monday.

READ: Alas Pilipinas falters late vs Iran for first loss in AVC Nations Cup

The loss put Alas Pilipinas in a must-win situation in the home stretch of the AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup pool stage.

Canino, who played her heart out with 21 points off 17 kills, two blocks, and two aces, admitted the setback was a tough pill to swallow, but they have no choice but to move forward and get the job done in their last two Pool B matches against New Zealand on Wednesday and last year’s runner-up Kazakhstan on Philippine Independence Day.

“It was a tough match for our team because, of course, we wanted to win. But at the same time, we learned a lot from it. Whatever lessons we take from this game, we hope they help us grow, both as a team and as individuals,” said Canino in Filipino.

La Salle’s former UAAP Rookie MVP puts a premium on correcting their mistakes, especially in the last two sets that cost the game.

READ: Alas Pilipinas tops Indonesia to stay unbeaten in AVC Nations Cup

“What we experienced here is something we’ll really cherish. We acknowledge the mistakes we made, but we also recognize the good things that happened, like the connection and communication on the court. That’s one of the most important things, both on and off the court,” she said.

Alas coach Jorge Souza De Brito said that they will maximize Tuesday’s rest ahead of their crucial matches. 

“The mindset is still the same, it’s always fight hard because the result will come if you keep on playing hard,” he said.

With a 2-1 record, Alas needs to win its last two games to reach the semifinals, as only the top two squads from the group will advance.

“Ate Jia [De Guzman] told us, ‘It’s okay. We still have more games ahead.’ Whatever we learned today, we’ll carry into our next matches. She reminded us to keep our heads up because it doesn’t end here and we really gave it our all,” Canino said.