Cambodia completes stunning rise with maiden SEA V Cup championship triumph

Cambodia capped a remarkable resurgence in Southeast Asian men’s volleyball by dethroning Indonesia, 25-23, 28-26, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11, to claim its first-ever Southeast Asian V Cup first-leg championship on Sunday at the Candon City Arena.

A year after finishing the tournament without a single victory, Cambodia produced one of the competition’s biggest breakthroughs, capturing the title in just its third SEA V Cup appearance.

Leading the historic run was tournament Most Valuable Player Voeurn Veasna, who delivered another explosive performance with 29 points on 26 attacks, two aces, and a block. The Best Outside Spiker fittingly ended the championship match by scoring the decisive point off an Indonesian block.

Cambodia head coach Sameth Nouv said the championship highlighted the team’s remarkable improvement from last season.

"So, last year we did not get a single win but this year Cambodia did it, and then we got a championship in our second time in Candon City," Nouv said through an interpreter.

"I would like to show the new generation of Cambodian volleyball that this gold medal can be achieved with hard work."

Kuon Mom continued his strong tournament form by adding 27 points, while captain Suon Channaro orchestrated Cambodia’s offense effectively and earned Best Setter honors. Channaro also contributed five points in the title-clinching victory.

Indonesia, the reigning AVC Men’s Cup champion, pushed the match to five sets but could not complete the comeback. Best Outside Spiker Farhan Halim led the Indonesians with 23 points, while Boy Arabi finished with 22.

The tournament’s Dream Team featured three Cambodian standouts—Veasna, Channaro, and Mom—along with Philippine libero Josh Ybañez, who retained his Best Libero award. Vietnam’s Truong The Kai and Indonesia’s Hendra Kurniawan shared Best Middle Blocker honors, while Thailand’s Napadet Bhinijdee was named Best Opposite Spiker.

Earlier, Thailand secured the bronze medal after defeating Vietnam in a tightly contested battle, 23-25, 30-28, 25-20, 28-26.

Bhinijdee powered Thailand with 30 points, winning an exciting scoring duel against Vietnam’s Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, who led all scorers with 32 markers.

Chaiwat Thungkam added 21 points for Thailand, while Thanat Bamrunphakdi chipped in 15 as the Thais survived four competitive sets.

For Vietnam, Tang Ngoc Hieu scored 11 points and Tran Duy Tuyen contributed 10 in the third-place match.