Team Rebisco closed its campaign in the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship on a winning note. Photo from AVC
MANILA, Philippines—Team Rebisco secured ninth place after overcoming Sri Lanka’s CEB Sports Club in five sets, 25-14, 22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-11, in the 2021 AVC Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship Wednesday at Terminal 21 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
The undermanned Filipinos, who played without open spikers Bryan Bagunas and Marck Especjo, tacked their lone win in the continental tournament after going winless in Group B pool play at 0-4.
Joshua Umandal, who was a substitute in the Philippines’ silver medal-winning team in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, became Team Rebisco’s focal point in the tournament and he dutifully delivered the final point of the match with an off-the-block kill.
The 22-year-old University of Santo Tomas star also put Team Rebisco up 11-6 in the fifth set before CEB managed to get to within two, 12-10.
A service error from the Sri Lankans ultimately allowed Team Rebisco to set up one final kill for Umandal.
CEB, which finished with a 0-4 record in Group A, ended the tournament in 10th place.