Philippines repeats over Macau in classification clash of AVC Challenge Cup for Men

The Philippine men's volleyball team repeated over Macau with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-17 sweep in the classification match of the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men on Thursday in Taiwan.

The FIlipinos will still play Mongolia in the next match slated this Friday with the winner advancing to the battle for seventh place. The loser, however, will play in the battle for ninth.

Ryan Ka, who has been a reliable presence all tournament long, sent the Philippines to a 17-10 spread in the third through a down-the-line kill before Noel Kampton went off the block for a 22-15 lead.

Back-to-back attack errors from the Philippines, though, allowed Macau to trim its deficit to five, 23-17, but Ka crushed a two-man block from Macau for the match point.

Macau's double contact violation sealed the sweep for the Filipinos.

Ka led the team with 11 points while Filipino-American Steven Rotter and Marck Espejo chipped in 10 and six markers apiece.

The Philippines previously eked out a similar sweep victory against Macau to kick off its AVC campaign last Sunday.

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News