By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The Philippines bowed out of medal contention in men’s volleyball at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games after yielding to host Cambodia, 25-18, 25-18, 25-17, Thursday night, May 4, at the National Olympic Stadium here.
It was the second defeat for the Filipino spikers, who were bracketed in Pool A, after losing its opening assignment to defending champion Indonesia, 25-18, 25-18, 25-23, the day before.
That crushed their hopes of matching their runner-up finish in the 2019 edition held in Manila.
Obviously, the PH team sorely missed the services of Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas – the engine of the team’s historic runner-up finish during the Manila edition.
Both players begged off due to various reasons with Bagunas busy with his wedding and Espejo due to his commitment to a pro league.
Jade Disquitado and Steven Rotter tried to anchor the squad but could only produce a combined 15 points as the Cambodians, bronze medalists of the previous edition in Vietnam, were too much to handle.
The Cambodians banked heavily on Pin Sarunand Mouen Menglaiy, who tallied 13 and 12 points.
The PH spikers clash with Singapore on Saturday, May 6, with hopes of nailing their first win.
The Singaporeans have also dropped their first two games with defeats to Cambodia (25-14, 25-19, 25-20) and Indonesia (29-27, 25-8, 25-10).
Just like the previous edition, the best that the Filipinos could finish is fifth.
