Thailand silences PH to advance to AVC semis

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BIÑAN, Laguna—Thailand brought down host Philippines, 25-21, 25-14, 25-20, to advance to the semifinal stage of the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship Tuesday at Alonte Sports Arena here.

The Thais set up a semifinals matchup against 10th-ranked Korea in the penultimate stage while the Philippines will duke it out against Chinese-Taipei in the bottom four of the classification stage.

Despite the loss, Philippine head coach Francis Vicente was pleased with the fight his team showed against the Asian powerhouse.

READ: Philippines stuns Vietnam in AVC 

“This is a game, you win some you lose some. But it’s how you fight that’s important,” said Vicente in Filipino. “I saw that the heart was still there and the determination to not give up was there also.”

“It’s just unfortunate that we lost today.”

The Philippines labored to score against the Thais’ superb defense, converting on just 28 of its total 114 spike attempts.

Thailand, on the other hand, scored on 46 of its 109 spike attempts.

READ: Macandili on facing powerhouse teams in AVC: ‘This is anybody’s game’

Chatchu-on Moksri and Ajcharaporn Kongyot had 17 points apiece to lead Thailand while Wilavan Apinyapong added 13.

Jovelyn Gonzaga spearheaded the 79th-ranked Philippines with 11 points while Alyssa Valdez and Jaja Santiago, who scored tournament-highs in their previous game against Vietnamn, were limited to a combined 16 points.