China, Vietnam in AVC semis

MANILA, Philippines — China and Vietnam carved out contrasting victories against their respective foes yesterday to barge into the semifinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup (AVC) at the PhilSports Arena.

The Chinese were merciless in eliminating the Australians, 25-13, 25-8, 25-8, while the Vietnamese went to its spiking machine Tran Thi Thanh Thuy in the fifth and deciding set to pull the rug from under the Taiwanese, 19-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10.

The 13-time Asian champion and eight-time Asian Games gold medalist arranged a semis encounter with Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand, which survived a courageous stand by a stubborn Philippines, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-9.

The Filipinas stared the Thais eye to eye in the first two sets, including the second when the hosts, represented by the reigning Premier Volleyball League Invitational champions, claimed their first set win against the latter in almost three decades.

The last time the country accomplished such rare feat came in the 1993 Singapore SEA Games where it went on to claim the gold.

The host country clashes with Australia today in the classification phase where it has a chance for a fifth place finish – its best effort in the history of the tournament.

Japan secured a semis ticket after it turned back a stubborn Iran, 25-23, 25-21, 26-28, 25-16, to arrange a semis showdown with Vietnam.

The victory by the Chinese put them in prime position for a shot at a sixth title in this biennial event now on its seventh edition.

“Everybody wants to win,” said China coach Kuang Qi through an interpreter. “It’s not actually the victory, it’s more about playing more on the court, show technique and learn everyday.”

While everybody was expecting China to win it all, nobody really believed Vietnam would make it this far as it was entered in this nine-day tournament as a wild card.

But the Vietnamese overcame overwhelming odds, zoomed to the No. 2 seed when no one was looking and then stunned a fancied Chinese Taipei, which finished fourth in 2018 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.