In a prelude to its bronze medal clash, the Philippine Women’s National Volleyball Team could not capitalize on its strong start, faltering to Indonesia in four sets, 25-22, 26-28, 22-25, 14-25, Saturday at the PhilSports Arena.
The Philippines remains winless in the 30th Southeast Asian Games women’s volleyball tournament,
The Filipinas rode on the crest of their searing surge late in the opening salvo, then sprinted to a commanding 20-15 spread in the second set. When it seemed that they had the two-set buffer on lock, though, Shaq Delos Santos shuffled his rotation. That then allowed the Indonesians to disrupt the Philippines’ tempo and stage a comeback.
Wulandari Ratri and Amalia Nabila took turns chipping away the deficit, letting loose a 9-3 stampede to flip the situation, 24-23. Still, Aby Maraño refused to let the set slip and forged deuce.
Errors dictated the swing of momentum at the onset of the two-to-win situation, leading up to a 25-all stalemate.
Ces Molina was able to put the Philippines at set point advantage with a cut shot, 26-25. But Wilda Nurfadhilah responded with a thunderous kill, before she tipped the scales to Indonesia’s favor with an ace, 27-26. Ratri then completed the set-clinching fightback with a cross.
It was a seesaw battle in the third frame. From a 20-all deadlock, Ratri gave Indonesia crucial separation, 23-21. The Filipinas continued to breathe down the Indonesians’ neck, though, knocking within a point, 22-23.
From there, Hangestri Pertiwi Megawati carried the scoring cudgels. Detonating consecutive bombs from the left-wing, she lifted Indonesia on a 2-1 set cushion.
In the decisive fourth set, the Indonesians relied on their precise execution at the net. They doubled up the Filipinas at 20-10, then never looked back.
This is Indonesia’s first win in the biennial meet.
The bronze medal match between the Philippines and Indonesia is on Monday, December 9, at the same venue.
