Indonesia battered the Philippines into submission, 25-17, 25-20, 25-10, to top the preliminary round of the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup for Women Tuesday night at the Tridharma Sports Hall in Gresik, Indonesia.
The Indonesians head into the quarterfinals beaming with confidence after finishing off the Filipinas with ease in front of their home crowd for a perfect 2-0 win-loss record in Pool A.
Indonesia and the Philippines will carry over their record in the round-robin quarterfinals against Australia and India starting Wednesday.
Already in control after two sets, the Indonesians buried the Filipinas early in the third frame to score another victory over the same rivals they beat in the bronze medal match of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last month.
A huge 11-3 run led by Megawati Pertiwi that shattered a 14-14 deadlock in the first set was all that Indonesia needed to take the fight out of its opponent.
The Filipina spikers, who swept Macau last Monday to secure a quarters seat, had a better showing in the second frame as veteran Aiza Maizo-Pontillas trimmed Indonesia’s lead to 22-20 after scoring an off speed hit.
But the Indonesians quickly snuffed out any hope of a comeback from the Philippines with three straight unanswered points to seal the frame.
Indonesia faces Australia at 8 p.m. while the Philippines squares off against India at 5:30 p.m. to begin their quarterfinals campaign.
