Phanom Penh, Cambodia, September 2, 2024 – An estimated 5,500 home fans packed the National Olympic Stadium Indoor Arena to witness their team stamp dominance over the inaugural SEA V. League Challenge following their 3-0 rout of Malaysia in the much-anticipated final showdown on Monday.
At the conclusion of the three-day preliminaries of the single round-robin competition on September 1, hosts Cambodia finished atop the four-team standing with 9 points from three straight wins, followed by Malaysia with 6 points from two wins against one loss. Singapore finished third with 3 points from one win against two losses, with winless Laos on the bottom fourth place with no point awarded.
Following the classification of teams at the end of preliminaries, cross semifinals were held in the Monday morning, with unbeaten Cambodia taking on fourth place Laos and second place Malaysia fighting it out with third-place Singapore.
As expected, Cambodia lived up to all expectations to sweep Laos in well-fought three-setter 25-16, 27-25, 25-17. Outside hitter Chan Veasna chipped in 14 points from 13 kills and one block for the host side, while outside hitter Saykhammoun Lid led Laos with 10 points including 9 attacks from 18 attempts.
Following the sensation win, Cambodia cruised their way to the final showdown at 7pm, where they were set to challenge Malaysia. In the other semifinal clash, the Malaysians struggled to beat Singapore in thrilling three sets 26-24, 25-21, 25-18. Jian Qin Sim delivered 14 points from 12 kills and two aces for Malaysia, while Wong Jordan Ryan scored a match-high 21 points from 18 kills, one block and two aces on the Singapore’s stunning loss.
The third-place playoff match between Singapore and Laos was held later in the afternoon. Singapore took the first two sets 25-14 and 25-20, thanks to the strong performance of middle blocker Loh Jay Pun and outside hitter Wong Jordan Ryan.
However, the Singaporeans lost focus and came up with unforced mistakes to go down 23-25 in hard-fought third set, but bounced back to win the lopsided fourth set 25-13, match and the third place. Laos did not win a single match in the four-day tournament to finish on the bottom fourth position.
Outside hitter Wong Jordan Ryan was a consistent weapon for Singapore as he chipped in 17 points from 16 kills and one ace for the team, with middle blocker Loh Jay Pun and outside hitter Lim Jayden Xuan Wei adding 16 and 8 points respectively. No Laotian player reached double digits in scoring against the opponents, with Chanthongdeng Chansabab leading the team with 9 points from 8 kills and one ace.
In the final clash, Cambodia, silver medallists at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games volleyball competition on home soil, repeatedly outplayed Malaysia, the team they had already beaten 3-1 in the curtain-raisers on August 30, with fantastic 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-23) victory for the eventual title.
Outside hitter Voeurn Veasna and fellow outside hitter Koun Mom joined forces in unleashing powerful attacks for the 25-22, 25-16 win in the first two sets. Outside hitter Muhammad Fahmi Madzlan and middle blocker Wong Teng Foong gave Malaysia a strong comeback in the third set, which saw both sides play neck and neck.
Still, backed by cheering home fans, Cambodia had some more left in their tank to narrowly edge past the rivals in intense third set 25-23, match and the title.
Outside hitter Voeurn Veasna was the Cambodia’s most productive player with 19 points from 18 kills and one ace, with fellow outside hitter Koun Mom and opposite Thy Menghuong respectively contributing 17 and 12 points. Opposite Jian Qin Sim scored a match-high 20 points from 17 kills, two blocks and one ace on the Malaysia’s loss.
Cambodia dominated in kills (46 to 32), blocks (9 to 7), aces (3 to 1), but Malaysia benefitted more opponent errors (21 to 17).
Meanwhile, H.E. Dr Sor Sokha, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and President of Cambodia Volleyball Federation, and H.E. Ke Soun Sophy jointly presided over the awards presentation and the closing ceremony. Cambodia captured the title, with Malaysia and Singapore took the second and third places respectively. Laos returned with the fourth position.
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