QUANG NINH — The Philippine women’s team beat host Vietnam, 2-0, to keep its hopes of making the gold medal match rolling in the 31st Southeast Asian Games beach volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Tuan Chau Beach.
Unlike in their 2019 showdown where the Vietnamese forced a golden match, the Filipinas got the job done via sweep to improve their win-loss record to 3-1.
Jovelyn Gonzaga and Dij Rodriguez remained undefeated in four matches as the first-time partners topped Truong Duong My Huyen and Nguyen Thi Thanh Tram, 21-13, 22-20.
Rebounding from the two defeats in the Philippines’ 1-2 setback to Indonesia Tuesday, Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons made quick work of Vu Ngoc Lan Nguyen and Nguyen Le Thi Tuong Vy, 21-16, 21-12.
The Indonesians, also sporting a 3-1 record, hold the tie-breaker against the Filipinas in case both teams end up locked in second place. Indonesia, the 2019 silver medalist, bested Malaysia, 2-0.
The Philippines will wrap up its round-robin assignments against 2019 gold medalist Thailand at 3:45 p.m. (Manila time) on Thursday.
The Filipinas can advance to the gold medal match if they beat the Thais coupled with a loss by the Indonesians to the Vietnamese.