Alas Pilipinas repeats over Indonesia for another SEA V.League bronze finish

Alas Pilipinas crawled back from two sets down to complete a 20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory against Indonesia and capture the bronze medal in the second leg of 2024 SEA V. League on Sunday in Thailand.

The nationals will finish the two-leg tournament with back-to-back podium outputs after also escaping the same squad during their first leg encounter in Vietnam last Sunday.

Staring at a 1-2 set deficit, the Filipinas dug deep in the crucial fourth set with young gun Alyssa Solomon sparking the comeback with her seniors Jema Galanza and Sisi Rondina helping the rally.

A Solomon open kill sent the Philippines to a 16-11 lead in the penultimate frame before a combination play from Galanza brought them to the set point at 24-18. The Indonesians, though, responded with two straight points to threaten a comeback of their own.

Galanza then saved the Filipinas from a scare after her first ball off an Indonesia service went right through the other side and scored the final point to drag the opponents to a deciding fifth set.

Indonesian ace Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi opened the final frame with a hammer from the right side, but the Philippines countered with a pivotal 5-0 rampage capped by back-to-back Rondina attacks.

With their backs against the wall, the Indonesias turned to another youthful talent in Junaida Santi, who would unleash a personal 3-0 blitz to cut their deficit to just two, 7-5.

Santi then squeezed the ball through the defense for a 12-10 affair, but her succeeding attack was denied by Cherry Nunag as the Philippines soared to a 13-10 lead. An attack error from Indonesia awarded the Philippines the match point as Solomon put the icing on the cake with an opposite finish.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News