PH men’s volleyball team bows out at 5th

MANILA, Philippines – After a winless outing in the preliminary round, the Philippine men’s volleyball team went out in style.

The Philippines avenged its straight-set loss to Singapore by hacking out a 25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23 triumph to secure a fifth-place finish in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Monday, May 8, at the Indoor Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

It is a repeat of their fifth-place finish achieved last year at the 31st edition of the event in Hanoi, Vietnam.

SEA Games neophyte Jade Disquitado delivered the goods for the Filipinos, scoring 6 points during a crucial stretch in the final frame.

Disquitado hammered a down-the-line attack that broke a 23-all tie, before Jayvee Sumagaysay made a rejection of his Singaporean counterpart to end the contest.

The Philippines overtook Singapore late in the third set by uncorking three straight points to claim a 2-1 set advantage, 25-22.

Lloyd Josafat made two consecutive rejections to give his team the lead.

It is a bounce-back finish for the Filipinos after being the first team since the country’s return to the SEA Games in 2015 to go winless in the preliminary stage.

The Philippines, coached by Brazilian Sergio Veloso, failed to win a single set against defending champion Indonesia, host Cambodia, and Singapore in Group A action.

Last Sunday, Malaysia had to squeeze the living daylights out of the Filipinos in the latter’s bid to secure its first victory of the tournament, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 17-15.

Disquitado was also the clutch hitter for the Philippines, scoring an off-the-block kill that gave his side the deuce in the decider.

Malaysia then launched an attack error, which sailed out of bounds, and sent them to a seventh-place classification showdown with Myanmar.

The Philippines wrapped up its stint with a 2-3 record. – Rappler.com