PLDT and head coach Rald Ricafort sealed an expected semifinal showdown with Petro Gazz following a 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-16 victory over Choco Mucho Thursday in the Premier Volleyball League All Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena.
PLDT’s victory also paved the way for a Creamline-F2 Logistics clash in the other semifinal.
The High Speed Hitters needed to endure the Flying Titans’ tough stand before pounding out the four-set win for the needed tiebreak points (3) to clinch the No. 3 seeding after they finished tied for second place with the Angels and Cargo Movers at 6-2 won-lost at the close of the single round eliminations.
Defending champion Creamline lorded it over the nine-team field with a 7-1 card with Petro Gazz nailing the second seeding last Tuesday with 19 tiebreak points.
PLDT took the No. 3 spot with 18 points and F2 Logistics settled for fourth with 16 points.
With the Flying Titans in game-mode despite being out of the semifinals race, the High Speed Hitters virtually worked for every point to carry out their mission with Mean Mendrez leading another strong PLDT windup with 21 points.
“We needed to finish strong because this match determines what kind of team we’ll be in the semifinals. We have to gain the confidence we need for the next round,” said Mendrez, who also drew solid backup from four others who finished with double-digit outputs.
“But we must work harder and try to keep our composure,” added Mendrez, referring to their keenly awaited clash with the Angels at the start of the best-of-three semis tomorrow, also at the Pasig arena.
Mika Reyes shone in the middle with 18 points, Dell Palomata and Jovie Prado fired 12 hits apiece and Michelle Morente added 10 points, the last wrapping up the two-hour and 12-minute encounter marked by long rallies and superb digs and saves to delight of the crowd.
Kat Tolentino and Isa Molde each produced 14 points while Bea de Leon added 13 markers and Maddie Madayag and Des Cheng scored eight points apiece for Choco Mucho, which surprised PLDT with a fiery first-set performance but wavered in the stretch in the next two before losing steam in the fourth.
“The slow start is a lesson learned for us…how we can control matches,” said Ricafort on his wards’ struggle against the strong-starting Flying Titans.
Against the Angels in the semifinals, Ricafort expressed confidence dealing with his former team again.
“We’ve played them before and that was a wonderful matchup, so we’ll review that game again,” he said
PLDT edged Petro Gazz in five sets last February 23.