Philippine Air Force completed a quarterfinal sweep of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference on Saturday after defeating PLDT Home Fibr, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-23, at Filoil Flying V Centre.
With an immaculate 3-0 win-loss card in the quarterfinals, the Jet Spikers took the third seed and earned the right to face second-seed Vice Co. in the men’s semifinals.
The Power Hitters dropped to 2-1 and will play against top-seeded Cignal in the other semifinal matchup.
Tied at 23 in the fourth set, Air force sealed the win with two straight points, capped by a block from team captain Jeffrey Malabanan.
“I told the players in the fourth set to relax because they’re so excited to finish the game that they’re committing errors. We just need to go focus on our endgame,” said Air Force head coach Hovyl Verayo in Filipino.
The Jet Spikers uncorked an 8-2 blitz late in the third set for a 2-1 advantage.
The Air Force’s towering net defense yielded 12 blocks compared to PLDT’s four.
Bryan Bagunas led all scorers with 26 points while Alnakran Abdilla chalked up 15 markers.
John Vic de Guzman paced the Power Hitters with 24 points. Ivan Ruiz L. Suing