The Philippines put up a valiant fight, but luck evaded the Nationals at crunch time and fell to regional rival Thailand in five tightly-fought sets in the opener of the Southeast Asia Volleyball League on Friday night at the City of Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.
Cheered on by a massive home crowd, the Nationals, starring Bryan Bagunas and Marck Espejo, controlled majority of the match with a 2-1 lead only to run out of steam for a tough 26-24, 25-27, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14 defeat.
Leg 1 winner Indonesia had no problem dispatching Vietnam, 25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-23, in the first game.
In opening leg last week in Jakarta, the Filipino spikers absorbed a 22-25, 20-25, 20-25 loss to Thailand.
But an almost entirely different Philippine team showed up in Santa Rosa with Bagunas, Espejo and Leg 1 Best Opposite Hitter Steven Rotter taking turns in steering the ship.
Bagunas fired 25 points on 23 hits and two blocks while Espejo and Rotter added 24 and 17 points, respectively, for the Philippines that came so close to finally breaking through in the inaugural regional tilt.
Supakorn Jenthaisong and Jakkrit Thanomnoi posted 28 and 22 points, respectively, to lead Thailand in a stellar comeback for a 1-0 slate in the two-hour and 34-minute match.
Earlier, Dimas Saputra sizzled with 22 points on 21 attacks as the Indonesians gained a piece of the lead with the Thais.
Thuan Nguyen Ngoc was the lone twin-digit scorer for Vietnam with 17 points.
The Philippines seeks to rebound against Indonesia Saturday at 6 p.m. with hopes of scoring a maiden win at home for a potential podium finish in the historic regional tilt presented by PLDT and backed by the City of Santa Rosa, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, One Sports and Cignal.
Meanwhile, at 4 p.m., Thailand goes for 2-0 against Vietnam in the duel of first leg podium finishers.
