Yogyakarta, Indonesia, August 24, 2024 – Thailand shut out Philippines in convincing straight sets to next square off with hosts Indonesia in the last clash of the 2024 SEA V. League at UNY Sport Complex here which will determine the eventual second leg champions.
On Saturday, Thailand, the only team which have yet lost a single set in the two-leg campaign of the 2024 SEA V. League, demolished Philippines 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19), while Indonesia and Vietnam locked horns in intense battle as the host side narrowly edged past the determined visitors in epic tie-breaker 25-22, 28-30, 22-25, 25-16, 15-13.
After the action-packed two days of the single round-robin competition, Thailand are leading on a 2-0 win-loss record and a perfect set record of 6-0 (combined two-leg 15-0) to stay atop the four-team standings with 6 points and a win away from sealing back-to-back titles. Indonesia are trailing in second place with 5 points from two wins in succession. Vietnam are in third place with one point from two consecutive losses, with winless Philippines on the bottom fourth position with no point earned.
With only one match remaining for each team to compete on Sunday, either Thailand or Indonesia look set to capture the second leg title. Their confrontation with each other will determine the best team in Yogyakarta and the second leg champions. At the same time, Vietnam will challenge Philippines in their last match which will also decide the third place and bronze medal.
In the first encounter on Saturday, Thailand, current world No.65 and winners at the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup, remained strong offensively with the likes of Napadet Bhinijdee and Kissada Nilsawai, who respectively landed the Best Outside Hitter and the MVP awards at the first leg at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila, Philippines last weekend. They rested two key players in outside hitter Anurak Phanram and middle blocker Anuchit Pakdeekaew and instead fielded Anut Promchan and left-hander Presert Pinkaew.
With Italian head coach Angiolino Frigoni at the helm, Philippines, playing without team captain Bryan Bagunas, who suffered from the knee injury, made a brilliant start to lead 6-0 in the first set. However, Thailand bounced back mightily, with Napadet on fire in powerful attacks with well-placed serves. Kissada did a very good job on fast spikes and blocking and Presert on his fast attacks. Thailand took the comeback first set win 25-18.
The second set turned out to be closely-contested with both sides playing neck and neck, resulting in the score tied at 18-18. However, Thailand broke away as they worked well on their offensive system. Napadet carried out great serves and Kissada blocked solidly, creating a lot of problems to the Philippines. An effective block from Kissada put Thailand to the set point at 24-20, but Philippines did not want to surrender easily as they hit back to win one crucial point. Unfortunately, their delight did not last long as Kissada fired a deadly fast spike to hand Thailand the 25-21 win in this well-fought set.
The rhythm was with the Thai team in the third set, which they took an early lead with one-point advantage at 11-10 before extending it to 17-15. Thailand displayed their consistency and resilience and unleashed a crucial 5-0 barrage with the powerful jump service of Napadet as they established a 22-15 cushion.
The 188cm-tall middle blocker Lloyd Josafat tried to put the Philippines back on track, unloading a quick attack to narrow the margin at 17-23, but Thailand made short work of the spirited opponents. Napadet finished it off with a back row attack for the team’s 25-19 win.
Opposite Napadet Bhinijdee delivered 23 points from 20 kills and 3 aces for Thailand, while middle blocker Kissada Nilsawai and Presert Pinkaew contributed 13 and 7 points respectively. Outside hitter Michaelo Buddin led Philippines with 10 points, all in attack.
Thailand dominated all elements of skill comprising kills (44 to 38), blocks (9 to 3), aces (5 to 1) and benefitted from more opponent errors (17 to 16).
In the second match, Indonesia delighted home fans with dramatic 3-2 (25-22, 28-30, 22-25, 25-16, 15-13) victory against Vietnam in grueling 140 minutes.
Indonesia’s Chinese head coach Li Qiujiang fielded his best players in the starting lineup including outside hitter Rendy Febriant Tamamilang, opposite Agil Angga Anggara, outside hitter Farhan Halim and middle blocker Hendra Kurniawan.
Indonesia gained the upper hand initially in the first set to lead 20-15, but Vietnam managed to reduce the gap by scoring three points from Pham Van Hiep and outside hitter Trong Nghia Quan. Still, the host side maintained the lead to clinch the close first set 25-22.
In the second set, Indonesia led 6-4, but Vietnam managed to restore the situation by winning five points in a row and after that, they came up with strong performance. Despite putting up a fightback, Indonesia found Vietnam a tough nut to crack to go down in hotly-contested set 30-28.
After 1-1, both sides gave it all what they had to win the third and fourth sets. Vietnam took the third set 25-22 to lead 2-1 and need only one more set to win the match. Unfortunately, they became more prone with unforced mistakes in the fourth set, allowing the host side several scoring opportunities. Indonesia sealed the deal 25-16 in the crucial set, forcing the tie-breaker.
In the decider, Indonesia managed to take the lead until the interval with a score of 8-6 through Boy Arnez’s effective attacks. Vietnam’s threat didn’t just stop, because they managed to equalize at 9-9 and 10-10. Indonesia reached match points first 14-12 before Vietnam managed to reduce the gap to 13-14 and outside hitter Boy Arnez Arabi fired home for the Indonesia’s 15-13 victory.
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