The Filipino spikers suffered a disappointing exit during the first leg of the Southeast Asia (SEA) V-league after succumbing to Vietnam in a 2-3 defeat last Sunday, July 23, 2023, held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Vietnam pulled a masterful reverse sweep to win the bronze against the Philippines in a grueling 25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 10-15 set score, preventing the Filipinos from clinching their maiden win in the tournament.
Filipino-American recruit Steve Rotter exploded with 29 points, but the effort wasn’t enough to secure the bronze for the Philippines, succumbing to a winless campaign in the inaugural tournament.
Rotter, Jau Umandal, and Noel Kampton of the Philippines were eyeing to seal the deal after an impressive two-set win, but Pham Van Hiep of Vietnam was just about to show dominance. Hiep showed fierce retaliation, leading Vietnam’s comeback rally, where they led by a huge 11-6 in the fifth frame. Rotter and Umandal attempted to revive the Philippines’ chances for a podium finish, but Vietnamese middle blocker Cu Van Hoang pushed their team to a 14-9 match point.
The Vietnamese committed a rotation error, costing them a free point and a serve for the Filipino Spikers, but Rotter’s service dismantled all hopes for the Philippines to earn them a podium finish after the serve went off the mark.
Rotter finished with 29 points, Umandal and Kampton chipped in 16 and seven points, respectively, and Vietnamese's Hiep tallied 22 points. Duong Van Tien and Tu Than Thuan added 14 and 12 markers, respectively, to secure a bronze finish for Vietnam and finish with a 1-2 record.
The Philippines fell to the bottom of the leaderboard with an upset 0-3 record, capped with a dissatisfying performance in their last chance to earn themselves a podium finish.
On the other hand, the Philippines will be hosting the second leg of this inaugural tournament from July 28-30, 2023, at Sta. Rosa, Laguna.