Singapore added to the woes of the embattled Filipino spikers as it carved out a 25-23, 25-21, 25-18, victory to close the group stage of the 32nd Phnom Penh Southeast Asian Games men’s volleyball competition Saturday at the Olympic Complex Indoor Main Hall.
The Singaporeans played more cohesively and with better communication compared to the struggling Filipinos to barge into the win column after three tries to finish third in Group A and send the Philippines to a disappointing 0-3 win-loss card.
Singapore faces Myanmar on Sunday in the 5th to eighth place classification round while the Philippines, who finished with a silver medal in the 2019 Manila edition, battles Malaysia.
Smelling blood from the wounded Filipinos, the Singaporeans took control of the third set early, padding their lead to 15-9 enough insurance to cushion the fightback of the Philippines.
Singapore quelled the Nationals’ short run that closed the gap to 16-13 with a closing 9-5 counter.
Costly miscues and spotty defense proved to be the downfall of the Nationals in the tightly-contested first two sets which the Singaporeans exploited.
The Nationals, composed mostly of SEA Games first-timers after the majority of the silver medal core begged off due to personal reasons, absorbed an 18-25, 18-25, 23-25, loss to defending champion Indonesia last Wednesday.
The Filipinos got demolished by host Cambodia and the last edition’s bronze medalist, 18-25, 18-25, 17-25, the following day.
