THE Philippine Volcanoes defeated Thailand 29-7 in the Mumbai Sevens in India, the third leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, on Sunday to win the Plate for the second straight time.
The Volcanoes, bolstered by the return on veterans Andrew Penaflorida Wolff and Mark Nelmida Chatting and standout newcomers Sean Celada Lynch and Dennis Sy Su Gordon, came up with a 26-0 rout of Singapore to set up a rematch with Thailand. The Philippines beat Thailand in the battle for the Plate in Pattaya last month.
Hong Kong topped the Mumbai Sevens with a 24-14 win over Japan.
The Volcanoes had started off strong in the pool round, defeating Chinese Taipei, 31-7.
But the team fell to perennial favorite Japan in their second match and bowed to Sri Lanka, relegating them to the Plate Division.
The Volcanoes scored three consecutive tries and one conversion early in the game against Thailand, taking the score to 17-0 by the end of the first half.
Although Thailand managed to score a try and conversion at the start of the second half, the Volcanoes kept their composure and scored two more tries and one conversion.
The India Sevens Tournament is the third stop of the four-leg HSBC Asian Sevens Series, the region’s elite Sevens tournament participated in by the top 12 teams in Asia.
“It was a tough series, but when all the boys put the effort in and work so hard, it makes the job so much easier” said Volcanoes captain Gareth Holgate. “We haven’t lost sight of our goal which is to place in the Cup Division, but are still very happy to be able to bring home another piece of silverware for the Philippines.”
The series finale is set in Singapore on November 9 and 10. The top two teams at the completion of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series will advance to the Hong Kong Sevens tournament in 2014.
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