Thais, Indons coast safely to semis

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Title-favorites Thailand and Indonesia 1 steamrollered past practically the entire field of the first Clark Centennial Cup yesterday, the day the Philippine bids virtually saw the sun set in this scenic summer spot inside the former United States base.

The Thais and the Indons won their two elimination round assignments in the morning and the afternoon and advanced to the cross-over semifinals of this tournament organized by the AYN Sports Management Group and backed by Speedo, Gatorade, PAL, Globe, Absolute, the PSC, The Philippine STAR and Clark Development Corporation.

Thailand 1 did not drop a single set in two games, giving up a total of only 24 points in waltzing past Indonesia 2, 21-10, 21-14, in the morning before tearing Philippines 1 apart with a clinical 21-9, 21-13 demolition job in the afternoon.

Jennifer Bohawe and Sarah Faye Luna, the prime hopes of the country in this event, failed to rise to the challenge in the face of superior international competition, which has the 18th-ranked team in the world in the Thailand 1 team of Manatsanan Pangka and Arlaisuk Ratanaporn, who also won the gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

It was a day of disappointment for the Filipinos, whose second team took Japan to a deciding third set before losing steam and losing bad in the end, 15-21, 21-17, 15-6.

Indonesia 1, a team made up of two mothers, one being a veteran of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was also overpowering in its debut, with Philippines 1 first to feel the wraths via a 21-13, 21-11 romp. Nurjanah Sitti and Yudhaha Ni Puti Timmy came back in the afternoon to deal Vietnam a sound beating.

Two teams from the two groups will make it to the cross-over Final Four to be played today. Philippines 1 still has a game left against Vietnam while Philippines 2 clashes with Indonesia 2 in the second game.