Power Pinoys salvage 7th place in Asian men’s volley club championship

Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Philippines’ PLDT Home Tvolution  salvaged seventh place at the  in the 2014  Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship.

The Power Pinoys eked out a tough 25-19, 26-24, 13-25, 21-25, 15-13 win over Zahraa Al Minaa-Lebanon in their classification phase match on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Alnakran Abadilla delivered a game-best 25 points and the powerful match-clinching crosscourt hit to carry the Filipinos while Australian reinforcement Cedric Legrand added 12.

Jeffrey Malabanan, meanwhile, had nine points including a crucial off the block kill and a service winner that put the Filipinos at match point.

The Power Pinoys yielded a two-set lead but managed to escape even a 9-7 deficit in the fifth set for its best finish in Asian competition since 2009.

“It’s beyond expectation. I’m very proud of this team and I would like to say ‘thank you’ to the crowd itself,” said coach Francis Vicente whose squad’s target was a top 8 finish.

At least 3,500 Filipino fans attended the final match of the Power Pinoys in the prestigious tournament.

“The crowd was a really a big factor, especially when the opponent was catching up. They helped us not to get down too much,” said La Salle-Dasmariñas star Abadilla.

Brazilian import Jhonlenn Baretto and Arthur Al Zayek finished with 21 points each for Lebanon, which missed the service of  Bruno Furtado who has gained quite a following here.

The Lebanese, who were fined $500 for wearing the wrong uniform, wound up at eighth place — still a better finish from last year’s where they landed 12th.

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