Needing to sweep its last three games to nurture hopes for a crack at the last semifinal berth, PLDT moved closer to reaching its target and staying in the hunt, repulsing Cignal, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, on Tueday in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
But the High Speed Hitters had to wait a bit before officially logging their third victory against four defeats, winning a challenge off a foot-fault by Rachel Anne Daquis, whose backrow attack would’ve have pushed the HD Spikers to within, 22-24, in a nerve-wracking endgame of the fourth.
It was highlighted by Elena Samoilenko’s own backrow hit that ended a long, energy-sapping rally in the stretch for the 24-21 PLDT lead where the High Speed Hitters and the HD Spikers traded power hits, drop shots and saves to the delight of the crowd.
While PLDT didn’t move at seventh place, the victory narrowed the gap between the fourth-running F2 Logistics (3-2) and joint fifth placers Choco Mucho and Cignal, which dropped to 3-3, with three playdates left in the single round robin elims of the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision.
The High Speed Hitters, who stayed alive by trouncing the Akari Chargers last Thursday, will close out their campaign against semifinalist Chery Tiggo Crossovers on Thursday.
Cignal, on the other hand, will have two tough assignments to hurdle to advance, facing off with F2 Logistics on Saturday and batting Choco Mucho next Tuesday.
“I just reminded them to keep fighting,” said PLDT coach George Pascua, referring to his wards’ third set stumble after sweeping the first two sets behind strong finishes.
While they failed to complete a sweep that would’ve boosted their bid in case they land in a tie for the last semis seat, Pascua stressed the need for his wards to dominate Chery Tiggo.
“We need to win in three sets (against the Crossovers) for the points system. But we’re still hoping, we still have a chance,” he added.
Samoilenko helped keep their slim hopes as she unleashed a 27-point game while drawing a solid 15-point backup from Dell Palomata. Mika Reyes also shone with 11 points while Chin Basas and Jules Samonte contributed 10 and nine points, respectively.
PLDT blew a five-point lead midway in the third set and missed completing a crucial sweep but leaned on a fiery seven-point binge in the fourth to seize control at 21-15. But the HD Spikers proved far from being finished, battling back at 21-23 on a Chay Troncoso block off Samoilenko that capped a 6-2 counter-attack.
“Good game in the first and second sets, good concentration but we were a bit loose in the third, not good receive and reception,” said Samoilenko, whose power-packed hit from the backrow in the clutch virtually dashed the HD Spikers’ hopes for a big comeback.
Import Tai Bierra scored 16 points while Ces Molina added 15 markers, Roselyn Doria made 14 points and Ria Meneses added 12 hits for the HD Spikers, who yielded 10 attack points to the High Speed Hitters but delivered eight aces, five more than their sister team.
The two teams also battled it out fiercely on the net with PLDT finishing with 12 blocks, including four from Samoilenko and three from Reyes, and Cignal ending up with 11 with Doria accounting for five and Meneses adding four.
