PLDT grabbed the fourth and last Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference semifinal slot the hardest and longest way, out-smarting Chery Tiggo, 25-21, 16-25, 25-23, 25-27, 15-12, in a match that lacked long rallies and fierce exchanges but which dragged late into the night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The High Speed Hitters pulled through in the pivotal third set that was close throughout, blew a four-point bulge (13-9) – a luxury in such kind of a duel – in the fourth that took 48 minutes to finish but proved steadier and tougher in the stretch of an encounter that also turned into a duel of staying power.
Hitter Me-an Mendrez and middle Dell Palomata took over in the clutch to put the High Speed Hitters back in command with the former delivering a kill to shatter the 11-all count and the latter making it a two-point PLDT cushion on her signature quick attack.
Rookie Imee Hernandez put the Crossovers back in the hunt via her own quick play but Palomata came through with a crucial block off the former UST star in a one-on-one duel at the middle and the High Speed Hitters moved to the next round as Mendrez foiled Eya Laure’s push to claim the victory and the hotly-disputed second semis seat in Pool A.
PLDT, which finished with a 3-1 card in the five-team Pool A, thus sealed a clash with Cignal in the semis which starts tomorrow (Thursday) with Pool A topnotcher Creamline slugging it out with F2 Logistics in a pair of top-notch matches among teams which survived the cutthroat single round elims phase.
Guest teams Japan and Vietnam will spice up the semis action.
Mendrez fired 13 attack points and finished with 16 markers while three others churned out double-digit scores for the High Speed Hitters, who bucked the absence of injured starting hitter Jovie Prado.
The gangling Palomata ended up with 14 points while Michelle Morente and Fiola Ceballos added 12 and 10 points and Honey Royse Tubino came away with a nine-point output, including big hits in the fifth.
The High Speed Hitters’ escape likewise put to naught Mylene Paat’s explosive 29-point game while Ponggay Gaston and Hernandez finished with 16 and 12 points for the Crossovers, who slipped to the Classification round with Petro Gazz, Akari, Foton and Gerflor.
