SEA Games: Philippines falls to Indonesia for silver finish in men’s volleyball

FILE – Philippine men’s volleyball team settle for the silver in the 30th Southeast Asian Games. INQUIRER PHOTO/AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines’ fairy tale run ended in a silver medal after losing to Indonesia, 25-21, 27-25, 25-17 in the men’s volleyball final of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games Tuesday at Philsports Arena.

The Indonesians went undefeated and barely broke a sweat throughout the whole tournament

The Filipinos settled for second place in the men’s volleyball tournament, still a historic finish after they reached the gold medal round for the first time 42 years.

Head coach Dante Alinsunurin hopes the men’s program continues after their performance in the Games, where they upset many-time champion Thailand to get to the final.

“Our performance really had some problems earlier but my motivation for them before the match was that we already got a medal,” said Alinsunurin in Filipino.

“Still, we should always play at our best no matter what. I just hope that this program continues.”

It may have been a sweep, but the Filipinos also had their moments.

The Philippines took it to the champions in the second set to force an extension, but Indonesia had no problems wrapping the match up en route to its 10th SEA Games gold medal.

Putu Randu, who was vibrant both with his play and his taunting, led all scorers with 20 poinys while Rivan and Ardian Sigit had 17 and 11 points, respectively.

Marck Espejo led the Nationals with 15 points while Bryan Bagunas added 11.