Nationals trip Viets, face Thais in QF

BIÑAN, Laguna, Philippines –Team Philippines slew Southeast Asian Games giant Vietnam, 27-25, 26-24, 17-25, 25-23, last night to forge a quarterfinal duel with another top regional rival Thailand in the 19th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship at the Alonte Gym here.

Alyssa Valdez and Jaja Santiago came through with 20 and 19 hits, respectively, as they outscored the highly-touted Thuy Tran Thi Thanh, who was held to just 16 after coming into the match with an 18-hit norm, to complete the Nationals’ big upset of the 2015 Singapore SEAG silver medalists.

Valdez soared and hammered in power blasts from all angles, the last on a perfect feed by Kim Fajardo in a rare quick hit at center by the former Ateneo star that finished off the Vietnamese and netted the hosts the No. 3 spot in Pool E with a 1-2 (win-loss) record.

But they will face Pool F No. 2 Thailand, the 12-time SEA Games gold medal winner, in today’s quarterfinals set at 5:30 p.m.

Vietnam fell to No. 4 for a quarters duel with Pool F topnotcher Japan.

National team coach Francis Vicente’s gambit to start Aby Maraño and Maika Ortiz for skipper Mika Reyes and Ces Molina proved to be one of the keys to the rousing victory as they chipped in 11 and eight hits, respectively, while combining for six blocks.

Libero Dawn Macandili also shared the spotlight with 19 digs and 12 excellent receptions.

The win also underscored the Nationals’ readiness for next week’s SEA Games in Malaysia where they will face the Vietnamese in their group that includes the host country.

It was one victory that spoke well of the character and resiliency of the team.

Down, 21-24, in the opening set, the Nationals didn’t crack and chased and fought for one point after another behind Santiago, Valdez and Maraño until they forced a deuce. They battled the Vietnamese to another deuce point before stealing the set on a Thuyen Bui Vu Thanh attack error and a Valdez ace to complete their dramatic comeback.

The second set also headed to the same ending with Vietnam all set to equalize after posting a 24-21 lead, only to succumb to the Philippines’ gutsy stand and another strong finish anchored on Valdez’s back-to-back aces.

The Filipinas, however, seemed to have lost steam in the third, enabling the Vietnamese to extend the match but re-asserted their might in the fourth which they controlled majority of the way.

Nearly blowing a 13-7 lead and threatened at 12-14, the hosts regrouped and racked up four straight points to go 6-up and after a Fajardo service error, the Filipinas held sway on Valdez, Maraño, Jaja Santiago and Aiza Pontillas’ hits.