Lady Warriors, Jet spikers dispute semis slot

An outright semifinal stint is at stake when defending champion Pocari Sweat and Air Force clash Wednesday in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at 6:30 p.m. Filoil Flying V Centre.

Pocari is coming off a win against Adamson-Akari over the weekend and is bent on clinching a spot in the semifinals along with early qualifier and unbeaten league-leader Creamline.

But that’s also what Air Force, which shares second spot with Pocari at 4-1, has in mind.

The Jet Spikers are riding on a five-set triumph over the Power Smashers on Sunday.

BaliPure also hopes to stay in contention when it takes on Adamson-Akari in the other match at 4 p.m.

The Water Defenders suffered a stinging five-set defeat at the hands of streaking Perlas-BanKo in a match that saw last conference’s runners-up take the first two sets.

Myla Pablo and Kai Nepomuceno took care of the scoring in Pocari’s 25-23, 25-14, 25-19 rout of Adamson on Sunday, scoring 17 and 14 points, respectively.

But the Lady Warriors’ firepower will be put to test by the scrappy Air Force crew, including Iari Yongco, Joy Cases and Mae Pantino. —MARC ANTHONY REYES