Army imposes will on PLDT, finishes V-League first round unscathed

By: Bong Lozada - 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines—A first set blow would not deter them as the Philippine Army leveled the PLDT Turbo Boosters 3-1, 29-31, 25-19, 25-16, 25-18, during their last outing of the first round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 11 Reinforced Conference at the Arena in San Juan Thursday evening.

Philippine Army reloaded their rifles in the succeeding three sets after getting jammed in the first.

With the Turbo Boosters looking sluggish in their offense, the Lady Troopers took advantage of crucial errors that led to PLDT’s demise and an unblemished 3-0 record for the Philippine Army.

Down 14-15 before the second technical timeout, the Lady Troopers went on an 8-1 blitzkrieg with Jovelyn Gonzaga and Carmina Aganon leading the offensive.

Army head coach Rico de Guzman admitted that, despite their immense firepower, they lacked the defensive armaments that allowed the Turbo Boosters take them in the extra points of the first half.

“We don’t have problems on our offense, we got that, but we really have the trouble on the defensive half of the court,” de Guzman said.

He added that two of their main guns, Rachel Ann Daquis and Nene Bautista had dismal performances by their standards and they also had to adjust to youngster Dindin Santiago.

Santiago who is on her first stint with the Lady Troopers has not absorbed the system, well enough which slowed down the pace for Army.

“We still haven’t taught Dindin the right patters for defense and offense,” de Guzman said.

Luckily for de Guzman, reserve Joanne Bunag carried the load for Daquis and Bautista.

“It was my plan that if Rachel and Nene were off, I’d put in Bunag to join the attack,” de Guzman said.

Despite her unfamiliarity with the Army offense, Santiago still led all scorers with 19 with Gonzaga, Aganon and Jean Balse adding 17, 14 and 10 respectively.

PLDT team captain Suzanne Roces was the lone double-digit scorer for the Turbo Boosters with 11 as her team ended the first round on a 1-2 third place finish.