Alas Men Beach fell short against Vietnam, 1-2, in the opening match of their campaign at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Friday at the Sport Arena Jomtien Beach in Chonburi, Thailand.
Ranran Abdilla and James Buytrago kept the Philippines in contention by forcing a deciding match with a 21-14, 16-21, 15-9 win in Game 2, but they appeared to run out of steam in the golden match, ultimately losing 18-21, 21-18, 11-15.
Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Varga started Game 1 red-hot, dominating the opening set, but the Vietnamese duo adjusted in the next two sets, handing the Philippines a 21-13, 14-21, 10-15 loss that put Vietnam one win away from securing the match.
It was a challenging start for the Philippine men’s team, entering a new era without stars Jude Garcia and Jaron Requinton, as they struggled to keep pace with Vietnam, a team that has only finished on the podium twice since beach volleyball became a medal sport in 2003.
The Vietnamese lineup featured Lam Toi Nguyen, Van Viet Tran, Hoang Y Le, and Anh Tuan Nguyen.
The Philippines, aiming to improve on three consecutive bronze finishes, will look to bounce back against Laos on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (Manila time).
