MANILA – The Philippine women’s volleyball team struggled in its return to the Asian Games after a 22-25, 12-25, 15-25 loss to Thailand on Sunday at the Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Indoor in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Alyssa Valdez led the way with 7 points, Jaja Santiago and Kim Dy added 6 markers apiece, while Dindin Santiago-Manabat had 5 markers for the Philippines.
Chatchu On Moksri top-scored with 15 points while Pimpichaya Kokram and Pleumjit Thinkaow had 13 and 10 points, respectively, for Thailand.
The Philippines had a strong start in the first set as consecutive aces from Jaja Santiago allowed for an 8-2 lead. Thailand rallied to take a 16-15 lead but the Filipinas regained the edge 21-19 before surrendering 6 points to Thailand.
In the second set the Philippines had a flat start and fell 5-10 on back-to-back over-receives. They tried to come close but Thailand continued its attacks to pull to a 23-12 advantage.
The Philippines was still hanging around early in the third set and only down 8-9 but its service and reception errors allowed Thailand to pull away with 11 points en route to a straight-set win.
On Tuesday the Philippines will try to bounce back against Japan before rounding out its group stage matches when it faces Hong Kong on Thursday and host Indonesia on Saturday.
Returning to the Asian Games women’s volleyball for the first time in 36 years, the Philippines need to win at least two matches to earn a slot in the knockout quarterfinals.
Meanwhile the Philippines bagged bronze medals in poomsae after the men’s team of Rodolfo Reyes Jr., Dustin Mella and Jeordan Dominguez and the women’s team of Juvenile Crisostomo, Rinna Babanto and Janna Oliva lost to China and South Korea, respectively, in the semifinal round./PN
