Against a gritty Tacloban side, BanKo Perlas kept its perfect form Wednesday night.
The Perlas Spikers extended their unbeaten run to five, beating the Fighting Warays, 25-21, 23-25, 29-27, 25-18, to lord it over the standings of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at FilOil Flying V Center.
BanKo encountered a strong resistance from Tacloban, which tried to keep the sets close and was on the edge of taking the third set before the Perlas Spikers imposed their talent-rich bench and snatched the frame from under the Fighting Warays.
Nicole Tiamzon and Dzi Gervacio delivered the goods for the Perlas Spikers, who raised their game following their bronze-medal finish in the recent Vinh Long Cup in Vietnam.
The Fighting Warays absorbed their second straight defeat for a 2-3 record.
After tying the match at one set apiece, Tacloban leaned on Jovielyn Prado and Heather Guino-o to open the third frame with a 5-1 lead. It took match point, 24-23, only to see BanKo fighting for every point to steal the set.
That told heavily on the morale of the Fighting Warays, who fell behind by as many as 5-13 in the fourth as the Perlas Spikers cruised to the win while getting important points from veterans Amy Ahomiro and Sue Roces.
Later in the night, Creamline crushed Adamson-Akari, 25-16, 25-9, 25-20, and tied Pocari-Air Force at second at 3-1. The Lady Falcons fell to 0-4.