Kurashiki Ablaze during the PVL Invitational Conference battle for bronze against Est Cola. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
Kurashiki may not have defended its crown in the PVL Invitational Conference but it still landed a podium finish after blanking co-guest team Est Cola, 25-22, 26-24, 25-20, on Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Est Cola is a very young team and I feel like we grew up during this league so we are happy to still win,” coach Suzuki Hideo said through a translator.
The Ablaze were demoted to the battle for third by Cignal, which is vying for all the glory against Creamline as of posting, after a 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-11 loss Wednesday night.
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“We were sad last night but we needed to reset our mindset because playing here in the Philippines is a good opportunity so going into this game they talked about giving their best this game,” Hideo said.
Morimoto Hiroko of the Kurashiki Ablaze during the PVL Invitational Conference battle for bronze against Est Cola. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
Despite the heartbreak, Cing Low Mei and Saki Tanabe joined hands to save the campaign of the Japanese team.
Tanabe delivered 13 attack points while Low Mei was present in both offense and defense with 14 points on eight attacks and six blocks.
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“It is our second time playing Est Cola so it was already a bit easier for us to play against them. Our condition is also okay so my performance was okay,” Tanabe said also through a translator.
Kurashiki was in control throughout the game despite Est Cola showing signs of brilliance in all three sets, narrowing the lead but it was just not enough.
The Ablaze rushed to a 15-7 lead in the deciding frame before the Thais showed signs of life and threatened to extend the game behind Napatson Pumnin and Papatchaya Phontham and breathed down the neck of Kurashiki, 19-17.
The Japanese were already ready to go home and rode a 4-1 run on the way to victory.
Kyoka Oshima guided Kurashiki with 19 excellent sets as the Ablaze ended the conference with a 3-2 win loss card, including the loss to Cignal and Creamline.
Warisara Seetaloed topscored for Est Cola with 14 points, 12 from attacks, and Natthawan Phatthaisong 11 points as the Thais only came up with a lone win against Farm Fresh.