After the overwhelming victory against U18 Kyrgyzstan on the opening day, coach Ngoc Hoa and her students entered the match against U18 Philippines with high confidence.
U18 Vietnam women's team entered the game well, maintained cohesion in their playing style and effectively utilized scoring opportunities to create an overwhelming game in the first set. As a result, Bao Ngoc and her teammates won 25-17 to take the lead.
However, the developments afterwards showed that the Philippines was a much more difficult opponent than predicted. This team continuously put pressure with an energetic playing style, while U18 Vietnam also encountered difficulties against the opponent's defense and counter-attacking ability.
Set 2 became tense as the two teams chased each point. At one point, the Philippines created an advantage, but coach Ngoc Hoa's students still maintained their composure to reverse the situation and win narrowly 26-24.
Drama was pushed to the highest point in the 3rd set. The two teams continuously clashed in the decisive points and had to enter a prolonged point battle.
In the important moment, U18 Vietnam showed the bravery of a championship contender when taking advantage of the last chances to close the set with a score of 31-29, thereby completing a 3-0 victory.
Despite winning against the opponent by a wide margin, this is a match that shows that U18 Vietnam must face a big challenge. Against a determined and not easily subdued Philippines, the young Vietnamese girls proved their ability to overcome pressure as well as maintain concentration at key moments.
One of the biggest highlights of the Vietnamese team is the performance of captain Bui Thi Anh Thao. The main attacker born in 2009 continued to play the leading role when scoring 14 points, becoming the player with the most points for U18 Vietnam in this match.
Not only effective in attack, Anh Thao also showed confidence and bravery in decisive moments.
With 2 consecutive victories and 6 absolute points, U18 Vietnam officially won a ticket to the semi-finals.
