MANILA, Philippines – The country’s table tennis players lost their opening day matches in the 25th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) Tuesday in Vientiane, Laos.

The RP women’s team lost its matches against Vietnam and host country Laos at the Convention Hall in National University.

The Vietnamese ping-pong players swept the Filipinas, 3-0, Tuesday morning.

According to the Laos SEA Games website, Mai Hoang My Trang edged Chrisma Capistrano, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4. Mai Xuan Hang beat Beverly Villar, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7, while Luong Thi Tam defeated Henezey Aragon, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3. 

Capistrano, Villar and Aragon put up a better fight against the Laotians in the afternoon but they suffered defeat for the second time.

Aragon failed to get past Seangdavanh, 4-11, 11-4, 6-11, 15-13, 8-11. Villar fought back in the third set but lost to Seangdavieng, 11-13, 3-11, 11-7, 8-11. Capistrano, meantime, was unable to sustain her strong start. She lost to S.Thippakone, 11-8, 2-11, 9-11, 7-11.

The trio of Aragon, Villar and Capistrano will play against Singapore on Wednesday.

The men’s table tennis team, meanwhile, was also unsuccessful in its SEA Games opener. The RP men’s team yielded to Singapore, 1-3, on Tuesday.

Rodel Valle lost his matches against Gao Ning, 5-11, 4-11, 4-11, and Yang Zi, 4-11, 4-11, 5-11. Ting Ledesma was also beaten by Cai Xiaoli, 3-11, 3-11, 3-11.

Richard Gonzales scored the lone point for the Philippines by outlasting Yang Zi, 8-11, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9.
    
The RP men’s team is slated to face Cambodia and Indonesia on Wednesday.