It took Kurashiki of Japan one set to shake off the jitters and settle down, beating Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh of Vietnam, 23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-11, on Saturday evening in a warm-up for the two guest teams’ much-awaited duels with the top local squads in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference semifinals at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Tamaru Asaka unloaded 28 attack points to finish with 29 markers in an explosive overseas debut while skipper Yano Yukino added 17 points, including the match-clinching kill, and Taniguchi Saya and Takio Kokoro finished with 10 and nine ponts, respectively, as the Japanese bucked an early struggle with efficient hitting, good passing and a fast game to hurdle the team’s first overseas foray.
Asaka, who later said they needed to adjust since their brand of game is different than the Vietnamese, claimed the player of the game honors.
So overpowering were the Japanese that they produced 65 attack points, 25 more than their rivals although Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh showed flashes of brilliance on net defense, finishing with nine kill blocks against Japan’s six.
Kurashiki Ablaze likewise cashed in on Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh’s flawed service reception, scoring five aces while yielding none to their rivals.
Huong Nguyen scored 14 points while team captain Oanh Nguyen had 10 markers, Xuan Le chipped in eight markers and Ngoc Nguyen and Quynh Pham matched six-point outputs for the Vietnamese.
But from the looks of things, the locals’ level of play when ranged against Kurashiki and Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh are slightly above par although the Japanese also pack awesome power behind Asaka and Yukino, among others.
But then again, a first game does not make a tough contender with the Vietnamese, backstopped by a slew of veterans, expected to elevate their game the next time around after getting clobbered by the Japanese after pulling through in a tight first-set clash.
The PLDT High Speed Hitters will test the Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh side’s mettle tomorrow (Monday) at 6:30 p.m. while the Cignal HD Spikers face the Japanese in the 4 p.m. opener of a rare Monday playdate.
The two guest teams will then gauge their strength and stamina when the take on the league-leading Creamline Cool Smashers and the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers on Tuesday with Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh facing off with the defending champion at 4 p.m. and the Kurashiki Ablaze mixing it up with F2 Logistics at 6:30 p.m.
