Thailand coach Kiattipong
The Thais took advantage of the reception difficulties of Puerto Rico (1-2) to dominate the first two sets and eventually win the match in 72 minutes.
Puerto Rico had its best performance in the third set and was in front 23-20 in the third set but couldn’t retain the advantage.
Onuma Sittirak and Pleumjit Thinkaow led Thailand with 17 and 14 points respectively while Puerto Rico’s Karina Ocasio-Malpica finished with 10.
“My team improved compared to our previous match,” Thai Coach R. Kiattipong said. “We were able to stop Puerto Rico.”
“Our passing wasn’t good and that’s lethal against a team like Thailand who plays fast and defends well,” Puerto Rico coach Rafael Olazagasti said.
In the other match of Sunday, China defeated Cuba 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18) to win the first phase of the tournament with a 3-0 undefeated record.
The event resumes on Wednesday in the city of Shenzhen with the same teams competing in a round-robin.
Final positions: 1. China (3-0), 2. Thailand (2-1), 3. Puerto Rico (1-2), 4. Cuba (0-3).
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