Reigning champion Indonesia staved off a strong resistance from Vietnam, 21-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 15-12, and gifted Alas Pilipinas a sure podium finish in the first leg of the Men’s SEA V. League on Sunday, Aug. 18, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Indonesia finished its campaign at 2-1, awaiting the result of the final game between the Philippines and Thailand at press time to determine its final placing inside the Top 3 after sweeping the two legs of the inaugural edition last year.
Indonesia’s escape act kept Vietnam winless at 0-3 and in the process aided Alas (1-1) to secure at least a bronze medal for the first time after a pair of fourth-place finishes last edition, thanks to a rousing victory against Vietnam in the opener.
Boy Arnez Arabi fired 22 points on 19 hits, two aces and a block to anchor Indonesia’s thrilling come-from-behind win as Vietnam came out swinging in hunt for a breakthrough win.
Fahri Septian Putrama backstopped him with 21 points built on 19 attacks as Hendra Kurniawan chipped in 11 points.
Indonesia came off a 23-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-21 win against Alas for a good rebound after absorbing a tough setback against Thailand in the opener, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20, that hurt its title retention chances.
Against the winless but dangerous Vietnamese unit, the Indonesians started flat start once again including a costly 19-25 defeat in the third set for a sudden 1-2 deficit.
But they proved their championship pedigree in the nick of time, carving out a gritty 25-22 fourth-set victory to forge a decider where they blitzed to an 8-4 start en route to the win.
Tran Duy Tuyen, Pham Van Hiep and Nguyen Thanh Hai scored 22, 19 and 13 points, respectively, in the gallant stand of Vietnam against the reigning Southeast Asian Games champions.
