ALAS Pilipinas’ late comeback against mighty Vietnam fell flat in the end, 13-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-9, in Leg 1 of the 5th SEA V.League on Saturday in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
A silver medal, however, is still attainable for the Philippines even with two losses ahead of Sunday’s first-leg finale against also-winless Indonesia.
That is, only through an unlikely triumph by the Indonesians over Thailand later today.
After threatening an upset against the Thais last Friday, the nationals couldn’t keep up with a well-rested one-two punch in Tranh Thi Thanh Thuy (T4) and Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen.
READ: Plucky Alas Women blow one-set lead against mighty Thailand
Nguyen, the tournament’s reigning best opposite spiker, did not play in the Vietnamese’s opening-day 25-11, 25-11, 25-22 sweep of Indonesia, while T4 sat out the last set.
As it stands, it looks like a sixth straight SEA V.League one-two finish featuring Thailand and Vietnam, ranked third and fourth in Asia.
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