Bali Pure nets Shakey’s V-L semis berth

ANGELINE Gervacio of Bali Pure fails to stop Maria Tsuchiya of Baguio in their Shakey’s V-League match yesterday. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

BALI PURE showed no mercy against an overmatched Baguio side, coming away with an emphatic 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 victory last night to secure a semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Grethcel Soltones, Alyssa Valdez and Dzi Gervacio joined forces in a solid effort by the Water Defenders who rested star Alyssa Valdez in the third set with the outcome already in the bag.

The Water Defenders finished off the Summer Spikers in just 59 minutes to extend their winning run to five matches as they warmed up for the highly anticipated clash with Pocari Sweat on Saturday.

Bali Pure coach Charo Soriano refused to be carried away by the lopsided victory, stressing that the Water Defenders have plenty of room for improvement.

“We’re still working on our combination plays and receives,” said Soriano. “We’re looking forward to Saturday’s game.”

Baguio got a grim reality check on the level of play in the V-League, closing out its campaign without a win in seven outings but gained a lot of experience playing against the best in the fold.

Soltones unloaded 13 kills while producing four blocks for a 20-point performance while Gervacio scored 10 attack points for an 11-hit effort. Amy Ahomiro backed them up with 12 markers, including three aces.

Valdez finished with eight hits in just two sets.

The Summer Spikers got six points each from Ai Tsuchiya and Carmela Dicksen.

In the Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Open Conference, Air Force rallied past Navy, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, to tie Instituto Estetico Manila at second with a 3-1 record.

Navy fell to 0-4, joining Bounty Fresh out of contention. Cignal leads the semifinal cast with a 4-0 card while Sta. Elena Construction bagged the last Final 4 seat with a 2-2 mark heading in to the last two eliminations playdates.