A morale-boosting win and a deflating but encouraging loss have convinced new coach Federico Rampazzo that the Vietnamese team is heading in the right direction.
Vietnam marched on to the semifinals of the SEA V Cup, breezing past unheralded Myanmar, 25-18, 25-23, 25-19, on Friday at the Candon City Arena.
It was a huge bounce-back win sealed in an hour and 20 minutes, after an exhausting two-hour four-set loss to Thailand, a team four spots below in the world rankings.
Rampazzo noted both results were crucial in the development of the Vietnamese squad, lauding the team led by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan and Pham Quoc Du for their smart decision-making in tough stretches.
‘A lot of situations they never see, because the match against Thailand was our first official -match. I’m really proud of what they’re trying to do,’ Rampazzo said.
Playing in its first official FIVB-sanctioned tournament since last season’s zonal meet and first with Rampazzo in charge, Vietnam showed encouraging signs as it adapts to the Italian tactician’s system.
‘Thailand is very solid and we tried to learn during the match itself. We focused more on trying to improve our technique, strategy. They played very good in my opinion, very satisfactory,’ Rampazzo said.
Vietnam is one of several nations that have tapped Italian volleyball specialists.
Alas Pilipinas brought in Angiolino Frigoni two years ago, just before the Philippines hosted the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup, where nine other nations were led by Italian coaches.
Rampazzo stressed that progress cannot be rushed and it applies to all young developing teams, pointing to Myanmar’s improvement from one match to the next as proof that teams are built through experience.
‘It’s a process, we need to be patient,’ Rampazzo said. ‘Like Myanmar, you saw it from yesterday and today, they have fewer errors.’
‘And all the young teams, for everybody it’s like this.’ Rampazzo appealed to his team’s supporters for patience as they mature.
‘I’m very proud, they’re really eager to learn. They keep learning and I believe we are on the right path.’
‘I hope that everybody seeing these matches, give time for the players to grow, and they will give great satisfaction to the nation.’
SEA V Cup crucial meet to climb world rankings
JUST like the Philippines, Vietnam is looking to stamp its mark in the Asian Games in Nagoya later this year and the SEA V Cup is one of the crucial stages for the teams in the region.
The zonal meet, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and the City of Candon headed by Mayor Eric D. Singson, offers all-important FIVB world ranking points.
Vietnam entered the Sea V Cup ranked 62nd, with Thailand 66th.
Indonesia heads the field at 44th, buoyed by the title triumph in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Men’s Cup just last month in India.
Alas Pilipinas entered the event ranked 90th and Cambodia 117th.
Thailand topped Group B with a 2-0 record, while Myanmar went 0-2 and will go to the classification match for fifth and sixth spots.
Thuan had 22 points on 17 attacks, four aces and a block, while Du delivered 13 points, all on attacks for Vietnam.
Kyaw Aung Myo was the only player who reached double-figure scores for Myanmar, delivering 13 points on 12 attacks and an ace.