The Premier Volleyball League heads back to Sta. Rosa, Laguna today (Saturday) with Creamline out to regain a shared view of the top against Cignal, and Petro Gazz seeking a bounce-back win versus Akari at resumption of the Reinforced Conference elims at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex.
Tots Carlos, the Open Conference and Invitationals MVP, hopes to get back into the flow of things after dealing with back issues, making a limited stint in their tough four-set win over the Angels last Tuesday. But the likes of Alyssa Valdez and Jema Galanza have taken the cudgels along with import Yeliz Basa, whose 28-point explosion following a relatively quiet debut against PLDT should all the more fire up the Turkish ace in their face-off with American Tai Bierria and the HD Spikers at 5:30 p.m.
But as the grand slam-seeking Cool Smashers go for their third straight win, the HD Spikers, who held off the Akari Chargers in four in the opener at Sta. Rosa Sports Complex last Oct. 8, are hard-pressed to rebound from a four-set loss to the surging Chery Tiggo Crossovers and boost their 1-1 card in a spirited chase for the semifinal berths in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
The top four after the single round robin elims among nine teams will advance to the next phase with Chery Tiggo looking good with a 3-0 card and Creamline ready to re-join the Crossovers on top.
Choco Mucho, which pulled through in a riveting five-setter over PLDT last Thursday, grabbed third place with a 2-1 slate with Petro Gazz and Cignal tied at fourth and PLDT, Akari and F2 Logistics just behind with 1-2 marks.
UAI-Army trails the field with three straight losses.
The Angels, meanwhile, try to recover lost grounds as they take on the Chargers at 2:30 p.m. with power-hitting Lindsey Vander Weide tipped to preside the 2019 champion’s charge, along with locals Myla Pablo and Jonah Sabete
But the Chargers have proven their mettle this early, trouncing the Army Lady Troopers in three after debuting with a loss to the HD Spikers. They actually looked headed to upending the Crossovers after seizing a 2-1 set lead last Thursday but lacked the poise and endgame spunk to pull off such a reversal, yielding a heartbreaker of a five-setter.
But coach Jorge Souza de Brito expects his wards to get better and stronger although the Chargers would need not just power but a superb all-around game to bring down the Angels.
Matches are telecast every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on One Sports, One Sports+, Cignal Play and Smart Gigaplay with hashtag #TheHeartofVolleyball.
