Elena Samoilenko and PLDT High Speed Hitters in the PVL Reinforced Conference. –PVL IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–PLDT redeemed itself from a first loss in this conference by blanking Farm Fresh, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23, to end its PVL Reinforced Conference first round duties on a high note on Thursday at PhilSports Arena.
The High Speed Hitters relied on Russian import Elena Samoilenko who finished with 22 points, majority coming from attacks, to improve to a 4-1 card heading into the second round.
“Happy that we got through the bracket, so hopefully the momentum helps in the second group stage. Because the teams we’ll be crossing over with don’t really seem like bottom three,” coach Rald Ricafort said.
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“If you think about it, Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho are still strong teams, so we still need to prepare for them. It’s good that we gained some momentum somehow,” he added.
Fiola Ceballos contributed 11 attack points while Kim Fajardo kept the Foxies guessing with 12 excellent sets apart from her three attacks. Mika Reyes added eight points, half of which coming from blocks.
PLDT High Speed Hitters’ Fiona Ceballos. –PVL IMAGES
“I’m just happy because this game is important for our momentum as a team, so this will be our basis for what adjustments we need to make,” Fajardo said.
PLDT will move on to Pool C with other top-ranked Pool A teams Creamline and Chery Tiggo.
It was evident from the way PLDT played that it wanted to rebound from its five-sets loss against Chery Tiggo on Saturday, stopping at nothing as early as the opening frame.
“We’re really just focusing on what’s next. We’re always thinking about the next step because we can’t change the result of our last game, so we just forget it and keep working,” Fajardo added.
Farm Fresh bared its teeth halfway into the second set and kept in step with the High Speed Hitters who got away in the last second to gain a 2-0 set advantage.
The Foxies kept up until the deciding frame but their own errors allowed PLDT, who was firing at will, to pull away at 19-15. Farm Fresh carved out some sort of rally but it was the same story for the Foxies who were still not able to defend properly and keep their consistency in the offense.
“In our last loss, we focused too much on what Khat Bell would do. We forgot what our team was capable of. So, I think we’ll focus on that instead—not on what our opponents can do, but on what we can do,” Fajardo said.
Alyssa Bertolano sent a service to the net to send PLDT to match point before Reyes closed the doors on Kate Santiago for the win.
Trisha Tubu still had 17 points for Farm Fresh as it moved on to Pool D along with Galeries Tower and Nxled, the other bottom-ranked teams of Pool A.
Yeny Murillo, the Foxies’ Colombian import, helped a little bit with 11 points.