Men's volleyball "rehearsal" for SEA Games 33

This is an important "rehearsal" for coach Tran Dinh Tien and his team as well as football teams in Southeast Asia to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games. After the poor results at last year's tournament, the Vietnamese men's team is expected to improve its performance, thereby creating a spiritual boost towards the regional sports festival.

SEA V.League is the third consecutive international tournament in less than 3 months for the Vietnamese men's team. Previously, in May in Japan, the team called Sport Center 3 replaced the reigning national champion - Border Guard Club to participate in the Asian Men's Club Championship. Coach Tran Dinh Tien's students could not make a surprise when they were eliminated right from the group stage after 2 losses to Al Muharraq (Bahrain) and Al Rayyan (Qatar) - the team that later became the champion.

At the 2025 AVC Nations Cup in June, the Vietnamese men's team beat New Zealand 3-0 but lost to South Korea 0-3, finishing second in the group. The team then lost 2-3 to Qatar in the quarterfinals, then lost 2-3 to Indonesia in the 5th-6th place match and lost 1-3 to Chinese Taipei in the 7th-8th place match, thereby finishing 8th overall.

The biggest highlight of the team's campaign was the 2-3 loss to 2024 Asian champions Qatar in the quarterfinals. In this match, Ngoc Thuan and his teammates played very well, fighting with their opponents until the last set and only losing at the decisive moments.

However, 8th place is considered a step back in terms of achievements, because in 2023 the team ranked 4th and last year ranked 6th. Therefore, after this tournament, the coaching staff and players have learned from the professional results, determined to achieve better results in the upcoming tournaments.

The "tests of fire" at the two recent continental playgrounds will be valuable luggage for the Vietnamese boys at SEA V.League 2025. In this tournament, the Vietnamese men's team will compete in a round-robin, ranking each stage with the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia (after 4 years of organization, this year the tournament has an additional Cambodian team).

Stage 1 of SEA V.League 2025 will take place from July 9-13 in Candon (Philippines), stage 2 will compete from July 16-20 in Jakarta (Indonesia). SEA V.League 2025 is also the last international tournament in the preparation journey for the 33rd SEA Games of the Vietnamese men's team. In 2024, the Vietnamese men's team lost 6 matches, ranked last in the 2 stages of SEA V.League, so fans really want the Vietnamese boys to improve their performance, thereby creating momentum towards the 33rd SEA Games.

The opponents in the tournament are the strongest teams in Southeast Asia at the moment and are also the top candidates for the gold medal at the year-end tournament in Thailand. Therefore, not only Vietnam, but all teams sent their strongest forces, partly to compete and hone their skills, partly to review their forces, understand more about the playing style and preparation of their opponents.

Therefore, the requirement that the coaching staff of the Vietnamese men's team set is that the players must maintain high concentration and play with the highest determination. The teams of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia all have good players, so the whole team determined that each match has a decisive meaning in terms of results. The whole team will be determined to have good results to not disappoint the expectations of the fans.

At SEA V.League 2025, the Vietnamese men's team almost kept the same squad that competed in the AVC Nations Cup 2025. The only change is the return of setter Pham Van Hiep after injury to replace main striker Duong Van Tien. The remaining players are: Dinh Van Duy, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, Tran Duy Tuyen, Truong The Khai, Phan Cong Duc, Cao Duc Hoang, Nguyen Thanh Hai, Trinh Duy Phuc, Hoang Xuan Truong, Che Quoc Lo Vit, Nguyen Van Quoc Duy, Quan Trong Nghia and Pham Quoc Du.

This year, the Vietnam Sports Administration and the Vietnam Volleyball Federation have assigned the Vietnamese men's team the target of reaching the final of the 33rd SEA Games. Experts say this is not an easy goal and is a great pressure for coach Tran Dinh Tien and his players. Therefore, the preparation stage, especially the results at the 2025 SEA V.League - a tournament considered a training ground before the 33rd SEA Games - is very important for the Vietnamese men's team.

SEA V.League 2025 for women's teams will compete in the first round from August 1-3 in Thailand and the second round from August 8-10 in Vietnam. The tournament brings together 4 teams: Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, competing in a round-robin, ranking according to each round. After the AVC Nations Cup 2025 and VTV Cup 2025, the Vietnamese women's team has returned to professional training, increasing the players' physical strength during the training trip in Tam Dao ( Phu Tho ).

The team will send Team B with 14 athletes, including players who have not often played in recent times such as: Ly Ly, Kieu Trinh, Pham Thi Hien, Nguyen Thi Phuong, Kim Thoa, Thuy Linh, Bich Thuy... under the guidance of Coach Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa (assistant to Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet) to participate in the Shanghai International Tournament (China) - Shanghai Future Stars 2025 from July 13-19. The remaining players of the team will still practice normally in Tam Dao. After the end of the tournament in Shanghai, the players will return to Tam Dao to gather and practice before participating in the SEA V.League 2025.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/bong-chuyen-nam-cu-duot-cho-sea-games-33-151133.html