BaliPure survives

In a match between struggling teams, BaliPure was just a little better than Chef’s Classics Saturday night.

The Water Defenders notched a second win in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference by clipping the Red Spikers, 25-22, 20-25, 27-25, 25-22 at FilOil Flying V Centre.

And it wasn’t easy for BaliPure as it just survived a series of unforced errors and kills of Chef’s Classics top gunner Nieza Viray all evening.

Viray and Justine Tiu sparked an 8-3 rally to take a 17-15 lead in the fourth that eventually doused the Red Spikers’ bid to take the match to the full five sets.

Menchie Tubiera scored back-to-back points, while Grazielle Bombita knocked in clutch points as the Water Defenders sealed the victory and doomed Chef’s Classics to its fifth straight defeat.

Tubiera finished with 18 points, while Bombita and Shirley Salamagos added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Water Defenders.

“We tried our best to hang on and follow the instructions of coach (Rommel Abella), because we needed this win,” said setter Vira Guillema in Filipino. She accounted for 21 excellent sets.

Indeed, BaliPure’s wins have come few and far between. When it beat Air Force last week, it was its first victory in 12 matches dating back to the last conference.

“We need to lift our game more,” said Guillema. “We need to work harder and tell ourselves that we can do it.”