Volcanoes reach Asia Rugby semis

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Volcanoes stormed to the Cup semifinals of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series’ final leg after sweeping their opening day doubleheader Saturday at Racecourse Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Volcanoes started Pool A action with a 34-5 upset of Asian Games bronze medalist Korea then followed it up with a 24-19 shellacking of reigning Southeast Asian Games champ Malaysia to secure their entry to the Last Four with a game to spare.

The Phl next faces powerhouse Japan, also unbeaten after a 61-0 and 40-0 shutouts of Malaysia and Korea, respectively, in a dispute for top honors in Pool A before proceeding to the semis.

The Filipinos, who placed fourth in the opening stop in Hong Kong and fifth in the second leg in Korea, opened their campaign in the culminating tournament with a stirring win over the stunned Koreans. Vincent Young slammed in a pair of tries as the Volcanoes unloaded a 27-0 exchange in the second half to rip the game apart. Robert Fogerty, Donald Coleman and Ryan Howe also joined the Phl onslaught in the last seven minutes.