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SEA Games: Pinays fall shy of volleyball bronze, ends tournament winless

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ABS-CBN News

Indonesia has defeated the Philippines 25-20, 24-26, 25-15, 20-25, 16-14 to win the bronze medal in Southeast Asian Games women&#x27;s volleyball at PhilSports Arena on Monday.It was the seventh straight top-3 finish for Indonesia in the SEA Games.The Philippines last reached the podium in 2005.The hosts showed grit, but their efforts weren’t enough to hide the disappointment of their campaign as they bombed out of the podium yet again.The Filipinas dropped all of their four matches in these Games, including back-to-back losses to the Indonesians to finish last in a field of four.The Philippines, which stuck with a different rotation without top hitter Alyssa Valdez, squandered a 7-5 lead in the fifth set as the home side allowed Indonesia to knot the frame with back-to-back points.Ces Molina and Mylene Paat stepped up in the closing stretch, hammering down the all-important points to give the Philippines a 12-8 advantage.The Indonesians rallied to close the gap 12-11, before Paat stopped the bleeding with a down the line kill. Arsella Purnama answered with a kill, before Molina broke the block to put the Philippines at match point 14-12.Indonesia saved two match points before Purnama’s off speed put the visiting team at match point advantage.Megawati Pertiwi then drove the stake into the Filipinas&#x27; hearts with an off-the-block hit.Head coach Shaq Delos Santos&#x27; gambit in the fourth set injected new life into the Filipinas after a third frame drubbing.Delos Santos sat out Valdez and setter Jia Morado to open the fourth, as he stuck with seldom-used middle Mika Reyes paired with Majoy Baron at the frontline, Molina, Jovelyn Gonzaga and Eya Laure at the wings with veteran playmaker Rhea Dimaculangan and libero Dawn Macandili.It was an unpopular rotation but it worked wonders for the squad as Reyes and Laure scored on crucial plays and the Filipinas opened a 21-12 lead coming off back-to-back hits from the duo.The Indonesians cut the deficit to 23-18 before Molina accounted for the Philippines’ last two points to seal the set. —With a report from Mark Escarlote, ABS-CBN Sports<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

Indonesia beat the Philippines 25-20, 24-26, 25-15, 20-25, 16-14 to win the bronze medal in SEA Games women's volleyball on Monday.

Indonesia beat the Philippines 25-20, 24-26, 25-15, 20-25, 16-14 to win the bronze medal in SEA Games women's volleyball on Monday.