In a prelude to the gold medal match, Alas Pilipinas Women suffered their first loss of the tournament at the hands of defending champion Thailand, falling 2-0 to close the elimination round of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games beach volleyball competition at Jomtien Beach in Chonburi, Thailand.
Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons struggled early in the opening set but mounted a stronger challenge in the second, only to fall to the Thai duo of Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee and Taravadee Naraphornrapat, 12-21, 17-21.
In the second match, Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez pushed Thailand to the brink of a deciding set but ultimately came up short. The pair lost 17-21, 19-21, snapping the Philippines’ four-game winning streak to start the tournament.
Alas Pilipinas, already assured of at least a silver medal, finished the preliminary round as the second seed with a 4-1 record, while Thailand marched into the final unbeaten at 5-0.
The setback, however, only sharpens the Filipinas’ focus on the gold medal match. They will once again face the tournament’s most dominant program — this time on the grand stage, Friday at 2:30 PM.
The Philippines had stormed out of the gates in the preliminaries with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Indonesia, then carried that momentum to dominant sweeps against Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, announcing themselves as serious contenders from the start.
Now, Alas Pilipinas must confront the very team that handed them their elimination-round loss: the powerhouse Thai squad that has claimed gold in all eight previous editions of the SEA Games beach volleyball tournament.
