Four teams collide for last two outright quarters berths
At A Glance
- Tight matches are expected between four teams PLDT, ZUS Coffee, Farm Fresh and Akari for the two outright quarterfinal berths in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday, March 4, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Tight matches are expected between four teams PLDT, ZUS Coffee, Farm Fresh and Akari for the two outright quarterfinal berths in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday, March 4, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The fourth-seeded High Speed Hitters square off with the No. 9 Thunderbelles in the 6:30 p.m. nightcap while the fourth-ranked Foxies battle the Chargers in the 4 p.m. opener.
Winners of these two matches will join early quarterfinalists Creamline, Galeries Tower, Choco Mucho and Petro Gazz, while the losing squads will be relegated in a three-day play-in tournament with four others in a dogfight for the last two seats.
PLDT is on a roll with a four-game winning streak at the end of the preliminaries and is hoping to keep that momentum against a team it previously beat last Feb. 22 in Passi, Iloilo in straight sets.
Expect Savi Davison and Majoy Baron to carry the scoring load for the High Speed Hitters after the dynamic duo combined for 27 points the last time. Reinforcements are set to come from Erika Santos, Mika Reyes and Fiola Ceballos.
ZUS Coffee, for its part, is not at all intimidated as it hopes to avenge that defeat against PLDT.
To do that, however, the Thunderbelles must double their efforts on all fronts, not only putting a stop on Davison and Baron, but also attack the net more aggressively with Glaudine Troncoso, Michelle Gamit, Cloanne Mondenedo and Kate Santiago.
The other pairing is expected to be a fierce battle, with Farm Fresh finishing the prelims at fifth, and Akari just behind at seventh.
The Foxies also boast of having beaten the Chargers in their first meeting last Nov. 30 in straight sets.
Hard-hitting Trisha Tubu is expected to spearhead Farm Fresh assault, though she needs ample support from Louie Romero, Rizza Cruz and Caitlyn Viray to outplay a dangerous squad like Akari.
The Chargers boast of a strong crew in Ivy Lacsina, Fifi Sharma and CJ Soyud.