MANILA, Philippines – The nightmare run continued for the Philippine men’s volleyball team. 

In a battle of winless teams, the Filipinos still couldn’t catch a break as Singapore completed a sweep, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18, at the end of the group stage in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Saturday, May 6, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

With a 0-3 record – and without a single won set in pool play – it is the worst showing for the Philippines since returning to the SEA Games in the 2015 edition.

After a promising first set, the Filipinos were completely outmatched by a team that had not won a set in their first two assignments.

But the Filipinos kept grinding and and even looked poised to tie the game at one set apiece, as they took a 20-19 lead after a cross-court kill from Steve Rotter. A combination of errors, however, doomed them instead.

With the score tied at 21, Vince Mangulabnan committed an attack error that gave Singapore a 22-21 advantage.

Following a cross-court attack from Singapore, Rotter had consecutive attack errors that gave Singapore a commanding 2-0 set lead and never looked back, 25-21.

Indonesia and host Cambodia are projected to advance to the next round with a 2-0 record as of posting time.

The Philippines, meanwhile, got relegated to the classification stage.

Two days ago, the Filipinos already got eliminated after bowing to Cambodia, 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.

They also lost to Indonesia in straight sets in the opener, 25-18, 25-18, 25-23. – Rappler.com