Philippines U23 sent to brink by Okayama Seagulls in Sealect Open

Having an experience disadvantage, the Philippine Women’s Under-23 National Volleyball Team fell prey to the Okayama Seagulls, 9-25, 12-25, 6-25, to open their 2019 Thailand Open Sealect Tuna Championships campaign, Friday evening at the V Sommai Gymnasium in Sisaket.

The loss sent the Philippines to the danger zone in Group B. Also in the group are 3BB Nakornnont, who will face Okayama on Sunday, July 7.

The Seagulls opened the match with an overwhelming pace through the collective efforts of Sanae Watanabe, Aimi Kawashima, and Moe Sasaki.

Staring a double-digit deficit, 3-13, the Nationals leaned on Ysa Jimenez, Celine Domingo, and Lyann De Guzman to spark a resurgence but Okayama’s tempo proved to be too much as the Seagulls took the first set.

The Japanese seemed headed to another blistering start as they led 4-0 in the second frame until the Nationals woke up from slumber and showcased stellar net defense to knock within two, 6-8.

However, that would be the closest the Nationals could get as Okayama throttled past the Philippines the rest of the set for a 2-0 set lead.

It was all Okayama in the third set. Flaunting heavy-loaded spikes, the Seagulls raced to a sizable lead and never looked back. Moreover, they limited the Philippines to just six points in the set.

The Philippine team will try to recover from their opening-day loss as they face 3BB Nakornnont tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.