The Philippines’ firepower and speed proved too much for Macau to handle as the Filipinos cruised to an easy, 25-21, 25-15, 25-14, victory to secure a spot in the next round of the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup for Men Sunday at the Taipei Gymnasium in Taiwan.
As expected, Marck Espejo flexed his muscle on his return leading the Nationals to a rousing start in Pool D of the tournament which stakes a lone berth to the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in Qatar later this month.
The Pinoy spikers dusted off a rather rusty start before imposing their will on the outclassed Macau squad, which was buried in double-digit deficit in the last two frames.
The Nationals claimed a spot in the Last 12 along with Mongolia, which swept Macau last Saturday.
Philippines battles Mongolia Monday at 10 a.m.
Espejo, who rejoined the team after skipping the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, was all over the place firing projectiles that either sliced through the defense of Macau or landed hard directly on undefended areas.
The Korea Volleyball League-bound winger had plenty of help from the rest of the Sergio Veloso-mentored crew.
Kim Malabunga and Rex Intal, who along with Espejo and Jau Umandal were part of the national squad coached by Dante Alinsunurin that won silver in the 2019 SEA Games, provided significant numbers for the Nationals.
Filipino-American opposite spiker Steve Rotter and Lloyd Josafat also had their moments with skipper playmaker Vince Mangulabnan steering the Philippines’ fluid attack.
The Nationals were sluggish in the early going of the match as they allowed Macau to keep pace before pulling away in the closing stretch of the opening set.
The Philippines displayed better communication and executions in the second set to build a huge separation before taking full control of the duel.
Macau finished pool play winless and was relegated in the classification phase for 13th to 15th spots.
