PH falls to powerhouse Thailand in Asian Seniors quarters

BIÑAN CITY, Philippines (UPDATED)－ The Philippine national women’s volleyball team bowed down to Asian powerhouse Thailand, 21-25, 14-25, 20-25 in the quarterfinals of the 19th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship on Tuesday, August 15 at the Alonte Sports Arena.

The Philippine team held its own offensively in the opening set as it provided a show against the defending Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champs. The Filipina spikers briefly got a taste of lead, 17-16, before Thailand sparked a run in clutch time to fend off the gritty PH.

It was all Thailand in the second set, however, as the powerhouse squad displayed dominance on both ends of the floor. The Thai spikers delivered a clear advantage in the attacks department, 17-7, as well as in net defense – putting up 4 blocks compared to one for the Philippines. 

Jovelyn Gonzaga topscored for the national team with 11 points, all from attacks, while Alyssa Valdez added 9. 

Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Chatchu-on Moksri both dished out game-high 17 markers for Thailand, while Wilavan Apinyapong had 13. 

The nationals were coming off a morale-boosting victory against another tough Southeast Asian competitor in Vietnam, and successfully grabbed the 3rd seed in Pool E through a come-from-behind 27-25, 26-24, 17-25, 25-23 performance on Monday. 

Thailand, on the other hand, missed out on the top spot of Pool F after a stunning 4-set loss to Japan, 25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 24-26 in the classification round yesterday.

With the win, Thailand moves on and books a date with South Korea – which earlier defeated Chinese Taipei – in a semis clash on Wednesday, August 16.

In the other bracket, China and Japan advanced to the semifinals after listing straight-set victories against Kazakhstan and Vietnam, respectively. 

The Philippine team will meanwhile participate in a semifinal classification round, which will determine the ranking of the remaining teams from 5th through 8th in the 14-nation tourney.

PH will have the chance to gun for the 5th-6th classification match when it faces Chinese Taipei on Wednesday at 12:30 pm. 

Scores: 

Thailand (3): Kongyot 17, Moksri 17, Apinyapong 13, Bamrungsuk 5, Bundasak 2, Thinkaow, Tomkom 1 

Philippines (0): Gonzaga 11, Valdez 9, Santiago 6, Maraño 3, Ortiz 2, Molina 2, Reyes 2, Fajardo 1 

– Rappler.com