MANILA – The Philippine men’s volleyball team bowed to Indonesia in straight sets, 25-21, 27-25, 25-19 for a silver medal finish in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Marck Espejo, Bryan Bagunas and Ran Abdilla tried their best to keep in step with the Indonesians on Tuesday night but their opponents were just too experienced to run away with the gold medal.
The Philippines struggled early. They trailed 14-8 before going on a huge run behind Espejo, Bagunas and Abdilla to come to within 19-21.
The Indonesians responded with a huge finishing run to take the set.
It was a tight game to start the second set for both teams. The Philippines surged to an 18-15 edge but it was quickly erased by the Indons. The visiting team came up with clutch hits to close the set.
The Indonesians went for the kill in the third set. They established a 16-11 advantage before taking the fight away from the Filipinos for good as the lead went up to eight.
The silver medal of the national men’s volleyball team surely glitters like Indonesia’s gold as it was the Philippines’ first time to reach the SEA Games finals in 42 years./PN
