REIGNING champion Indonesia outlasted Vietnam yesterday 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 tourney at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Indonesia finished its campaign with a 2-1 mark and waited for the result of the final game between the Philippines and Thailand at press time to determine its final placing in 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) in securing at least a bronze medal for the first time after a pair of fourth-place finishes in the last edition, thanks to a rousing victory over 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, the Indonesians started flat once again, including a costly 19-25 defeat in the third set for a 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.
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.
