Vietnam Oil and Gas Group easily defeated Laos 3-0 in the round robin stage of the International Men’s Volleyball Tournament, Hoa Lu-Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper Cup on Feb. 4, at Ninh Binh Gymnasium. New-comers Oil and Gas also beat The Cong 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23, 28-26) in an closely fought contest on Feb. 3 to put an abrupt end to The Cong’s dreams of reaching the semi-finals. Playing at home with frenzied home support, the Oil and Gas played at high tempo, and rapidly racked up points, however the visitors managed to claw their way back into the match and leveled the score, with the set entering a point-for-point duel. After a time out during the first set, Laos defended in depth but failed to break down a determined Oil and Gas, going down 25-22. Despite losting the first set, Laos managed to open the second set strongly. The team played better with a diverse range tactics and led Oil and Gas. In response to Laos, who were trounced by Sacombank Sao Vang Bien Phong (Gold Star Border Guard Command) 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) on Feb. 3. Oil and Gas responded with a flurry of attacks to take the set 25-16. In the third set, Laos opened up a promising lead. But through the efforts of Le Binh Giang, Truong Van Giap and Nguyen Van Hoa, Oil and Gas proved too tough, defeating Laos 25-16. The tournament will conclude on Feb. 7./.