What do we see after the historic championship of the Vietnamese volleyball team at the 2026 SEA V.Cup?

The Vietnamese men's volleyball team excellently beat Thailand 3-2 in the final to claim the championship of Leg 2 of the 2026 SEA V.Cup. What do we see from this remarkable win?

Coach Federico Rampazzo makes a big difference.

The first-ever SEA V.Cup championship in history for the Vietnamese men's volleyball team bears the strong imprint of Italian coach Federico Rampazzo.

He has only been working with the Vietnamese players for just over two months. In that extremely short period, Coach Rampazzo did not make any revolutionary changes in personnel or playing style. Basically, he still used the familiar core players from the era of Coach Trần Đình Tiền as the backbone of the national men's volleyball team.

However, Coach Rampazzo infused a new spirit into the team, constantly engaging in technical discussions with the players both during training and matches. The Italian coach demonstrated a coaching style that is both open and approachable, as well as passionate and energetic. At the same time, he showed the ability to quickly react to game developments and used personnel very flexibly.

He did not use a fixed starting lineup throughout the matches, nor did he rely solely on one group of players in a specific game. Instead, the Italian coach was ready to make substitutions when necessary.

The decision to "let go" of set 4 and go "all in" against the Thai men's team in set 5 by pulling out Ngọc Thuân, Dương Văn Tiên, and Trần Duy Tuyến to rest when Vietnam was trailing by 3-4 points was a bold yet very shrewd move by Coach Rampazzo.

That is an improvisation that we might not see from domestic coaches in such high-pressure situations. This decision helped Vietnam create a difference in set 5 to win the historic championship.

Biên Phòng MB remains the "backbone" of the national team.

The historic victory of Vietnam in the final of Leg 2 of the 2026 SEA V.Cup had a major contribution from the stars of Biên Phòng MB. The quartet of outside hitter Ngọc Thuân, middle blockers Trần Duy Tuyến and Trương Thế Khải, and setter Đinh Văn Duy all played outstandingly in the 3-2 win over Thailand.

If Đinh Văn Duy played the role of top ball distributor for the main attackers, then Ngọc Thuân (31 points), Trần Duy Tuyến (13), and Trương Thế Khải (9) brought a "basket" of points for Vietnam.

The four stars of Biên Phòng MB continue to show that they are still indispensable cards for the national men's volleyball team up to now.

Vietnamese men's volleyball can become a new power in Southeast Asia.

On the journey to winning Leg 2 of the 2026 SEA V.Cup, we defeated both of the biggest and most successful rivals: Indonesia (3-1 in the semifinals) and Thailand (3-2 in the final). Beating the two biggest opponents of Southeast Asian men's volleyball consecutively in one tournament is something the Vietnamese volleyball team had never done before. But now we have done it.

If the team continues to improve some technical limitations, the historic victory over Thailand may just be the beginning of the journey to become a new power in Southeast Asian men's volleyball.

We have a high-level coach and a squad of players with relatively good physique and fitness, who are at the peak of their careers. Ngọc Thuân (born 1999), Trương Thế Khải (2004), Duy Tuyến (2001), Đinh Văn Duy (2000)... promise to continue playing at a high level for many more years.

The historic championship at the 2026 SEA V.Cup helps the national men's volleyball team gain more confidence to aim for new goals in the future. If Vietnam improves their first touch, backcourt defense, and also adds quality players to share the scoring burden with Ngọc Thuân, we can completely become a new power in Southeast Asian men's volleyball.