Philippine Volcanoes finish bittersweet run at Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series

After flaring up in the Asia Rugby Championship stint, the Philippine men’s Volcanoes have slipped back into dormancy while the women’s squad keeps its sparks alive.

Fresh from their Asia Rugby Championship campaign just two months earlier, the men’s Volcanoes placed 12th after falling to Thailand 33-14, while the Lady Volcanoes secured 11th with a 15-5 win over Indonesia in the 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series (ARESS) at Hangzhou Normal University in China, September 20.

After capturing the Union Cup crown in ARC Division 1 in Taiwan, the men cooled off against a familiar foe, Thailand. 

Early in the first half the Thais struck quickly, but Dayton Amani-Iobu broke through late and captain Kai Ledesma Stroem added the conversion to cut the deficit to 14-7 at halftime.

Thailand surged again after the break, holding off tries from Amani-Iobu and Ethan Maxley and sealing a 33-14 victory to take 11th place.

Meanwhile, the Lady Volcanoes raced to a 10-0 lead just two minutes into the first half before Indonesia scored after the hooter to trim it to 10-5 at halftime. 

Jass Torio later broke through tackles to secure the Filipinas’ 11-5 win and an 11th-place finish in Asia.

The Lady Volcanoes ended with one victory, their final match against Indonesia, and four losses, including a tight 12-7 defeat to Singapore in the battle for ninth place.

The men’s team closed its run with one draw against last year’s fourth seed South Korea and three losses, including a heartbreaking one-point setback to Uzbekistan in the fight for ninth.

Both national squads will aim to reignite their flames in Leg 2 of ARESS in Sri Lanka on October 18-19 before chasing gold at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.