Volcanoes in epic last day effort secure Silver

The last day of the SEA Games Rugby 7s competition saw a monumental effort by the Philippine Volcanoes, coming from 4th place to secure the Silver medal. Disregarded in pre-tournament calculations by all their competitors, the “Son’s of Lapu Lapu” finished very strongly in the end, with an absolutely enthralling and intense semi-final match outwitting, overpowering and outlasting number 1 ranked Malaysia and securing a berth in the Gold medal match. Then for 11 minutes the golden dream was alive, with the score against Thailand in the final poised evenly at 14–14 . It was a tense and eventful first half, with Philippines’ tight and controlled game containing Thailand’s exuberant speed. However, eventually the Thai’s were able to unshackle themselves from the brutal Philippine defense and gain some open space, which allowed their speedy wingers to break through with 2 unanswered tries, closing the game out 28–14, leaving Philippines with the Silver.

The epic day for the Volcanoes started with what became the match of the tournament, 4th placed Philippines took on the raging favourites and undefeated Malaysia in the semi-finals. Malaysia had dominated the pool round of the tournament, easily the best team with clinical wins against all the 5 other countries competing, this including a tight 17-12 win against the "Son´s of Lapu Lapu" on the first day. However, a quietly confident Philippine team went into the do-or-die semi-final knowing they had been improving in every game they had played. So the stage was set for an interesting game that turned into an absolute classic. The first half was a tight affair with the Philippines only able to score right at the end of the half 7–0, but both teams had great opportunities only stopped by some fantastic defense. This to and fro battle continued into the second half, when the Malaysian’s were finally able to level the scores in the dying minutes of the game, forcing an extra time play-off. But the Volcanoes were able to keep their cool, dominating extra time, by camping in the Malaysian half, all this pressure eventually led to an opening on the wing and a stroll-over try to seal the match, 12-7. A thoroughly enthralling game that had the whole crowd, including SEA Games Chef De Mission Representative Monico Puentevella and PSC Commissioner Ricardo Garcia, on the edge of their seats.

This set the stage for a gold medal match between the home town team and the underdogs. The "Son´s of Lapu Lapu" had quietly gone about their business, proving to their detractors that they were a serious team that had come with the single minded goal of winning the gold. In the final they took no prisoners nullifying the Thai’s speed with bruising in your face tackles that successfully contained their opposition for the first half. Thailand’s try in the first minute of the game was quickly answered with a Philippine try, and when the Thai’s once again scored, the Philippines held their nerve and replied to finish the half with scores locked 14-14. Unfortunately, the second half saw the Thai’s able to play the open fast running game they favoured, making maximum use of their very speedy wingers, as the Philippines was unable to keep the tight game they had employed successfully in the 1st half. This eventually led to 2 tries that led to a final score of 28-14. However, the Volcanoes had given it their all and did themselves proud, bringing the game to the Thai’s that saw them partly avenge and improve on the 22-nil loss they suffered against Thailand in the pool rounds.

The Philippine Volcanoes had come to the SEA Games to win the gold, but had fallen just short. However, for a team that had been written off and ignored prior to the Games, they had stamped their mark, by winning the Silver. And the future looks bright for the "Son´s of Lapu Lapu", with a team with an average age of 22, even more lies in store for this team and the first stop will be getting the gold in Laos in 2009.