VIETNAM reverse-swept Thailand, 17-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-22, 16-14, to win Leg 2 of the 5th SEA V.League on Sunday in front of its home crowd in Ninh Binh.
The hosts’ pulsating five-set comeback win marks an end to Thailand’s six-year, 26-game unbeaten run in the regional tournament.
READ: Alas asserts mastery of Indonesia for another SEA V.League bronze
After six consecutive runner-up finishes to the Thais, the ever-lethal duo of Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen and veteran captain Tranh Thi Thanh Thuy (T4) secured Vietnam’s long-awaited breakthrough.
Fired up after a second-set loss, Vietnam dominated Sets 3 and 4 to force a decider in a repeat of their five-set duel in the first leg last week in Thailand.
Only this time, Tuyen & Co. took control of sudden death early and grabbed a late 13-10 lead.
The Thais made one last push and tied the fifth set at 13-all, only for Tuyen to score three of the last four points in the match.
In the end, two risky back row attacks from Tuyen capped her herculean 45-point performance to seal a historic title win for Vietnam.
It becomes the first time in 30 years that a team other than Thailand has won a regional tournament, making Vietnam the first Southeast Asian country to topple Thailand in a gold medal match.
The two Asian giants now shift their focus to the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship from August 22 to September 7 in Thailand.
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