Breaking that women's indoor medal-less drought will be quite the tall task for the Philippines.
Reality set in pretty quickly for the Philippine women's national volleyball team (PWNVT) in day 2 of the women’s indoor volleyball tournament.
Just a day after making light work of host Cambodia, the PWNVT crashed and burned on Wednesday against perennial powerhouse Vietnam, losing in straight sets, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19, at the Indoor Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The nationals actually got off to a strong start, leading for a long stretch in the first set. They even built a 16-13 advantage at one point on the strength of the early attacking success of Tots Carlos and Mylene Paat. But the Vietnamese side, which won silver in 10 of the last 11 SEA Games, began slamming the door on the Philippines’ dynamic spikers and ended the opener on a searing 12-4 windup.
Vietnam began imposing its will in the second set, controlling nearly every facet of the match, scoring almost at will and defending with ferocity and tenacity. It was much of the same in the third set, where the Vietnamese raced to an 11-4 advantage before cruising the rest of the way to end the match on an impressive note.
The Philippines will continue its ambitious bid to end its 18-year medal-less drought in the SEA Games on Thursday when they take on Singapore at 6:00 p.m.
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