Photos courtesy of Vietcontent
Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, August 4, 2024 – Perennial SEA Games champions Thailand struggled hard to put it past determined hosts and long-time archrivals Vietnam in epic tie-breaker to stamp their domination over the 4th SEA V. League First Leg at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium here on Sunday night.
The hard-fought 3-2 (25-18, 27-29, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13) win in exhausting 159 minutes at the packed venue handed Thailand a clean sweep in the single round-robin competition in Vinh Phuc.
Thailand and Vietnam had already pulled off two wins in succession in the three-day event and the confrontation between them on Sunday proved to be a decisive match and the final showdown to determine the eventual winners of the First Leg.
Thailand, current world No.14, defending and three-time Asian champions, brought their best players to the court at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium, where they powered past hosts Vietnam for their First Leg supremacy at the previous edition last year, and their star-studded squad including Chatchu-On Moksri, Pimpichaya Kokram, Ajcharaporn Kongyot, Hattaya Bamrungsuk and Thatdao Nuekjang led Thailand to flawless start in the first two matches with 3-0 against Indonesia and the Philippines.
As Thailand, consecutive 14-time SEA Games winners, fielded a fully-fledged team, hosts Vietnam, consecutive two-time AVC Challenge Cup and historic bronze medallists at this year’s FIVB Challenger Cup, were also strong offensively with the likes of prolific outside hitter and skipper Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and powerful opposite Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, 188cm tall, who emerged as Best Scorer and Best Attacker at the recent FIVB Challenger Cup in the Philippines.
Thailand mixed the offensive mobility of powerful attacks from Chatchu-On, Pimpichaya and Ajcharaporn and solid blocks from Chatchu-On, Hattaya and Thatdao to take the comfortable first set 25-18. Vietnam’s key player and team captain Tran Thi Thanh Thuy did not make her mark and was sidelined since then. Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen stepped up as the main weapon to lead the team’s offense.
Conceding one set, Vietnam regrouped and roared back mightily, making the next two sets more thrilling and hotly-contested. Their serving was really good and their blocking and defense created a lot of problems to Thailand.
In the second set, Chatchu-On’s block-out kill put Thailand in the narrow lead 24-23, but Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen’s back-row attack saved the day for Vietnam. Leads changed…
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