Amid scorching heat, Castillo gives BaliPure time to recover before Pocari match

As the summer heat continues to hit fever pitch, so does the race in the Premier Volleyball League.

BaliPure is locked in a three-way tie with Creamline and PayMaya atop the standings of the Reinforced Conference and head coach Babes Castillo plans an unorthodox way of preparing his team for its Sunday’s game.

Castillo is well aware of the summer temperatures in Metro Manila and he plans to rest his players before their match against Pocari Sweat to avoid overworking them under temperatures that constantly reach the high 30s.

“I need to make them rest,” said Castillo Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Centre after their 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 32-30 win over BanKo Perlas. “The past two games we played phenomenal in the first two then we will dwindle in the third.”

“We really have to manage our energy because the heat is really snuffing the energy from them.”

The Water Defenders are riding a three-game winning streak after losing their season-opener against Iriga-Navy and their last game against Tacloban featured the same theme as their win over the Perlas Spikers.

BaliPure dictated the tempo in the first two sets before allowing the Fighting Warays to steal the third.

“Recovery will now play a big factor for us and it will be just as important as training, we just have to get back slowly for Sunday,” said Castillo.