The Philippine men's volleyball team absorbed its first loss in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the hands of reigning silver medalist Indonesia, 25-23, 32-30, 25-20, Friday at the PhilSports Arena.
The Philippines closed out the preliminary round with a 2-1 record to finish in second place in Pool B and arrange a semifinal battle against defending four-time champion Thailand on Sunday.
Bryan Bagunas and Marck Espejo continued to provide the firepower and take charge for the Philippines. Bagunas delivered 24 points all from spikes, while Espejo had 17 points and 10 receptions.
After averaging 14 blocks and 7 aces in their first two wins, the Filipinos struggled with their net defense and service against the Indonesians, ending up with just one block and one ace, both from setter Joshua Retamar.
"Our opponent was difficult because their system is fast-paced. Our blockings were a bit late, and their setter had deceiving set plays so we had a hard time," admitted national coach Dante Alinsunurin.
Indonesia, in contrast, put up a solid wall at the net to disrupt the Philippines' offense. Rivan Nurmukli punished the home team with 24 points, including the game-winning kill and five of the team's 10 blocks. Doni Haryono also played a key role with 18 points and 14 receptions.
The Philippines threatened Indonesia in the second set as Espejo and Bagunas worked together to erase an early three-point deficit and tie the score midway at 14-all. The two teams engaged in a see-saw battle until the Indonesians reached set point, 24-22.
Espejo's hit and Retamar's ace pushed the Philippines to 25-24 before Bagunas took over in the succeeding plays to get two more set points. The Philippines wasted multiple opportunities, however, as it committed three crucial service errors that paved the way for Indonesia to close out.
The Philippines led by as many as five points, 16-11, in the third set but failed to extend the game as Rivan and Doni orchestrated Indonesia's comeback.
The home team will face an uphill climb in the next stage with powerhouse Thailand standing in the way of its gold medal hopes.
"We need to review how Thailand plays, but we also need to review what went wrong for us in this game, especially blocking, defense, and service receive," said team captain John Vic de Guzman. "We need to bring them back against Thailand so that we'll have a fighting chance in the semifinals."
Indonesia, which remained undefeated and took the top spot in Pool B, will take on Myanmar in the other semis bracket.
Winners will advance to the finals, while losers will be relegated to the bronze medal match on Tuesday.