Vietnam spikes Indonesia's title bid
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia looks to have lost hope of winning the ASEAN Junior Men's Volleyball Championship after an upset 2-3 defeat to Vietnam in a thrilling match at the Bung Karno Basketball Hall here on Wednesday.
Indonesia, coached by former national representative Syamsul Jais, must now beat defending champions Thailand on Thursday if it hopes to progress.
"We still have hope, provided the lads can beat Thailand," Syamsul told a post-match press conference.
Thailand's juggernaut continued with another 3-0 win over Malaysia. The champion was made labourous only in the opening two sets before recovering its clinical touch in a 25-23, 25-23, 25- 15 victory.
Wednesday's match against Vietnam could have swung in Indonesia's favor had it been able to convert its advantage when it led 14-13 in the deciding fifth set.
"We had the chance of killing it off for victory. They held serve, which meant it was our turn to attack. Unfortunately, the second ball was too lame to produce the winner," said Syamsul, who stood by the court almost the whole game to call out instructions to his team.
The match proved to be the closest encounter between participants in the tournament. It was the first game to take five sets to complete.
Although, the spectators were sparse, the atmosphere was electric as a group of home fans encouraged the Indonesian players with a set of drums during the game.
It was, however, the visitors who took initiative, taking the first set 26-24. Muhammad Riviansyah and teammates came back with a crushing 25-15 win in the second set.
The Vietnamese won the third set 25-23 to reestablish its lead before Indonesia leveled the tie with a 25-20 win to force the extra set.
The tiebreak was a nerve-wracking point rally. Indonesia found itself trailing 3-7, a worrying position in the race to reach 15 points.
Tonny Gumenggilung was released from the bench, and immediately made an impact. Tonny, at 187-centimeters tall, drilled up front with his short spikes, largely contributing to the team's fightback.
They caught up with the Vietnamese and even took over the lead before they eventually lost 17-15.
"We were punished by our unforced errors. Even worse, we failed to overcome nerves on the critical points," Syamsul, a former star, said.
Syamsul pointed particularly to lethargic setting by their players.
"The first ball was smoothly bounced up. I wish the second ball had always been smooth too. But the setter fumbled the ball at times," he said.
He also pointed to the wrong tactics in the first three sets which saw their players' ball return came often directly to Minh Quang.
The oldest player in the Vietnamese squad, according to Syamsul, was smart in controlling the ball and feeding it to his friends for lethal spikes.
Asked what they would do to build a performance possibly capable of toppling mighty Thailand on the final game, Syamsul said: "We will try to capitalize on their weaknesses."