Vietnam celebrates during a victory over Belgium to bag the bronze in the FIVB Challenger Cup in Manila.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Vietnam stunned Belgium, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, to salvage the bronze medal in the 2024 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Challenger Cup on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Ace hitter Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen exploded for 35 points on 34 hits as the Vietnamese, world No. 34, stood their ground in completing an upset of the world No. 13 Belgians.
The win made up for Vietnam’s 19-25, 14-24, 19-25, loss against world No. 16 Czechia in the semifinals to become the only Asian squad in the podium.
READ: Vietnam star T4 all praises for Alas Pilipinas, Jia De Guzman
It’s a strong follow-up to the Vietnamese’ championship last May in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup, which was also hosted by the country led by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara at the nearby Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Vietnam, which eliminated host Alas Pilipinas in the quarterfinals with a 25-14, 25-21, 25-22 win, made it happen with the support from Nguyen Thi Trinh and skipper Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who chipped in 10 and seven points, respectively.
“I’m very happy for this win and I’m very proud of my teammates. We have a good connection and we did well today,” said Thuy, dubbed as T4 in the volleyball community.
Vietnam’s Tran Thi Thanh Thuy during the bronze medal game against Belgium in the FIVB Challenger Cup.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
READ: Alas Pilipinas loses to Vietnam, bows out of FIVB Challenger Cup
Save for a close second-set defeat, it was all Vietnam in the duel against the European bet that also bowed out in the semifinals of the tourney backed by global partners Mikasa, Gerflor and Senoh and local partners PLDT, Rebisco, Manila Diamond Hotel, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Meralco, MWell, Cignal, Fitness First, Maynilad and Foton.
Belgium absorbed a 19-25, 15-25, 16-25 loss against world No. 15 Puerto Rico in the other pairing to settle for a bronze medal match to no avail.
Manon Stragier, Pauline Martin, Britt Fransen had 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Belgians in a commendable fourth-place finish.
Puerto Rico and Czechia were to play at press time for the Challenger Cup title and the coveted promotion ticket to the elite Volleyball Nations League (VNL).