Marck Espejo recalls atmosphere in historic SEA Games men's volleyball run

MANILA, Philippines — Marck Espejo and the Philippine men's volleyball team made waves for all the right reasons in the 30th Southeast Asian Games held in Manila last December.

In a historic outing, the Filipino spikers ousted five-peat seeking Thailand in a dramatic five-set victory in the semifinals.

The win, which sent waves across the region, placed men's volleyball into the limelight.

And while Espejo and the Spikers eventually settled for a silver medal, it was still a run to remember.

The Cignal HD hitter recently recalled the team's journey and the overall atmosphere of the tournament on the recent episode of Tiebreaker Vods' 2OT Podcast.

What struck Espejo the most was the number of supporters watching their game, with men's volleyball often taking a backseat to its female counterpart.

"Yung first game po against Cambodia, syempre medyo kaunti pa lang yung tao pero nung nakapasok na kami ng semi-finals, doon talaga nagboom yung mga tao tapos umabot pa kami ng finals so sobrang dami," Espejo recalled.

"Parang feeling nga namin basketball yung game e kasi first time nangyari yun sa men's volleyball... Parang nakakaproud talaga na maglaro para sa kanila and para sa Philippines," he added.

Espejo even attributed their emphatic upset over the Thais to the jolt given by the home crowd in the packed PhilSports Arena in Pasig City that December night.

"Yung crowd din po e kasi parang homecourt advantage na rin po yun para sa amin," Espejo said.

But along with motivation, the attention also spurred pressure.

"Pero at the same time, nakakapressure rin kasi parang ang daming expectations dahil umabot pa kami ng finals. Pero ayun nga masaya lang kasi marami rin nanonood sa men's volleyball," Espejo said.

The buzz generated by the men's volleyball team in the SEA Games carried over into the collegiate leagues, with the UAAP deciding to change the schedule for its volleyball tournaments to put men's and women's volleyball on equal footing.

However, the run would be cut short as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic put a halt to all sports in the country.

Espejo hopes that the hype won't disappear once men's volleyball returns to action.

"Pag balik na lang siguro ng tournament, tignan natin kung may mga tao pa rin na susuporta or mga hindi nakalimot," Espejo said.