PALEMBANG - The Philippines bowed out of contention in sepak takraw's men's team doubles play after losing to Japan, 2-1 on Friday at the Ranau Hall inside Jakabaring Sports City.
Japan won the first regu in two straight sets 21-17, 21-19. In the second regu, Japan nabbed the first set, 21-18, and needed to win one more take the regu and the game. However, the Philippines' dynamic duo of Rheyjey Ortouste and John Jeffrey Morcillos remained undeterred. They decisively won the second set, 21-10, and won the thrilling third set with Ortouste delivering the winning bicycle kick.
In the third regu however, Japan overwhelmed the Philippines' John Carlo Lee and Regie Reznan Pabriga. Even as Joshua Gleen Bullo was subbed in briefly, they struggled for points throughout the regu. Japan cruised to two straight sets, 21-14 and 21-10, taking the match.
"In the third regu, I think we lacked communication," assessed Pabriga. "We gave what we could in that event."
"We fell short towards the end," said coach Hector Memarion. "But we saw our athletes give their best. Luck didn't go our way, but we still have the regu event."
The Philippines won't advance in the semifinals of the men's team doubles but still have regu competition on Saturday. In the regu event, teams are composed of three players with two additional players serving as reserves. The Philippines will be tested early as it will be pitted against host country Indonesia in its first match in the preliminaries.
After two days of competition, coach Memarion is proud of his team. All nine Filipino players are in their first Asian Games but they didn't shy away from the tough competition.
"They've really shown heart. And no fear even though they're first-timers," beamed Memarion. "When you say first-timers, there's usually nervousness with the crowd. With them, there wasn't. It was as if they were in training. I'm really proud of them. They gave it their best."
For 27-year-old Morcillos, he shared that it has been an eye-opening experience so far.
"Our experience in these Asian Games have been really fun. It's our face time to compete here and we showed that 'Oh, we can do it. We can take on our opponents.'"
"We fell short but this is a huge exposure for us and for Philippine sepak takraw. This is a huge experience for us. These are lessons learned for us," he added.
"I hope we we win tomorrow," said Memarion. "We're still going to fight."