MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Volcanoes ended their 29th Southeast Asian Games campaign with 4th place finishes in the Rugby 7s tournament on Sunday, August 20. 

Both teams were able to advance to the bronze medal matches, where the men’s team faced Thailand, and the women’s team went head-to-head with host team Malaysia. However, Philippines fell to their opponents, 26-7 and 7-5, respectively.

It was a disappointing end for the men, who won gold in 2015, and the women, who earned the bronze that same year.

Finishing the round robin with a 2-3 record, the Volcanoes men’s qualified for the bronze medal match. However, that meant another date with the Thais, who beat them 31-14 in the round robin preliminaries.

Injuries plagued the Thai team throughout the game, but they were able to make two tries within the first half that gave them the lead, 14-0. Philippines was able to clutch a try and conversion to cut the deficit and make it a 14-7 by the end of the first half. 

The Thais continued to surprise the Philippines when they went against the run of play via a try early in the second frame to extend the lead, 19-7. Although Thailand was down to 6 players late in the second half, Philippines conceded another try, and surrendered the bronze to Thailand, 26-7. 

The Lady Volcanoes, who were in 4th place in the round robin, were matched up with 2015 defending champions Thailand in the semifinals. However, Philippines failed to register points in the game, as Thailand kept their scoresheet clean with a 26-0 victory. 

The third place match saw them booked for a rematch with Malaysia, whom they faced earlier in the day. Malaysia took an early lead by the first half, finishing it at 7-0 via a try and conversion. Plagued by inaccurate passes, Philippines was able to muscle their way through the Malaysian defense to score a try, but missed the conversion (7-5, MAS). This sealed the win and the bronze medal for Malaysia. – Rappler.com