The Philippine women's volleyball team fell to 11-time champion Thailand in a 25-16, 25-22, 34-32 sweep in the Southeast Asian Games Thursday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. With the loss, the Philippines fell to a 0-2 record and missed the opportunity of advancing to the gold medal match.
Vietnam and Thailand, both unscathed at 2-0, are now assured of the top two spots, while the Philippines was relegated to the battle for bronze against Indonesia (0-2).
Alyssa Valdez led the attack with 14 points, including five crucial ones in the closing rallies of the extended third set, on top of 12 excellent digs.
Mylene Paat also delivered in the clutch and finished in double-digits with 11 points. Aby Maraño and Majoy Baron ended up with seven points apiece.
The Philippines gave the ASEAN powerhouse a tough battle in the third set. Thailand led by as many as seven points but the home team clawed back down the stretch. The Filipinas refused to give up even after the Thais reached match point at 24-19.
Maddie Madayag started off an incredible 6-0 run with a block, followed by four straight kills from Valdez and Jovelyn Gonzaga and an error from Thailand, giving the Philippines its first taste of the set point.
Thailand moved to match point three times afterward, but Valdez launched a pair of attacks then Baron also made a key block to keep it tied at 28.
The lead swung to the Philippines' side four times, capitalizing on the Thais' errors and aggressive scoring from Paat and Valdez for a 32-31 advantage. Madayag committed a service error before Pimpichaya Kokram and Wilavan Apinyapong finished it off for Thailand with consecutive kills.
"I'm really proud because every huddle, we talk about just playing and enjoying the game and giving our 100 percent because we have nothing to lose," national coach Shaq delos Santos said in Filipino. "It's sad when we lose, but we still feel good knowing that we were able to perform well, the players worked hard, and we made a lot of people happy."
After a lopsided opening set, the Philippines kept it close in the second set and even mounted a 12-9 lead off a running attack from Baron. The Thais made a run to retake the advantage but Valdez, Paat, and Eya Laure conspired to put the Philippines back on top heading into the second technical timeout, 16-15.
Thailand unleashed huge plays down the stretch to build a 23-20 lead but Maraño and Baron scored back-to-back points to bring the Philippines within a single point. The defending champions remained composed as they built a 2-0 edge in the game before the third-set thriller.
Korkram (19 points, seven digs) and Apinyapong (15 points, eight digs, and 13 receptions) took charge for the Thais. Ace setter Nootsara Tomkom orchestrated their offense with 24 excellent sets.
The Philippines will face Indonesia in the last game of the preliminary round on Saturday before they meet again for the bronze medal match on Monday.
"We can see our improvement every game. That's really our goal until we reach whatever we can this SEA Games," said Delos Santos. "We'll target to win (next game) as much as possible to get out momentum. It won't be easy but we'll work for it and give our 110 percent."