FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Iraq’s South Gas Club Sports proved to be too much for the Philippines’ PLDT Home Tvolution Power Pinoys a second time around with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 win Tuesday in the classification phase of the 2014 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The taller Iraqis, who beat the Filipinos also in straight-sets in the elimination round last Thursday, picked up where they left off – banking on their lethal back row attack and solid blocking to pummel the gritty Power Pinoys.
“Hindi reason ang height (Height is not the reason) [why we lost],” said PLDT Home Tvolution head coach Francis Vicente. “We had some lapses in our floor coverage.”
And against a quality side like Iraq, which moves on to play the winner between Lebanon and Chinese Taipei for fifth place, those mistakes Vicente pointed out turned into easy points.
Iraq’s height though, was a big factor with its team bannered by a six-foot-six Bulgarian reinforcement Aleksandaron Metodi, who was nearly unstoppable regardless of where he was on the floor.
Metodi, just like in both clubs’ first meeting where he finished with 15 points, created problems for the Power Pinoys on both ends.
Metodi scored four of his team’s five points in a crucial stretch in the third set where the Iraqis took control. He started off with a bullet of an attack then a block on Alnakran Abdilla followed by another hit before scoring from the back row for a 20-16 Iraq lead.
The Power Pinoys fell behind, 18-24, after an Abdilla service error before chalking up three straight points all coming from Australian import Cedric Legrand. Metodi though, finished what he started with a cross-court hit.
The six-foot-four Legrand led the Power Pinoys, who will face the loser in the Lebanon-Chinese Taipei tiff Wednesday morning for seventh place, with 13 points.
The Philippines was relegated to the consolation pool after getting whipped by last year’s losing finalist Qatar in three sets in the quarterfinals last Monday.
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