Ultra Fast Hitters thwart Forte, gain semis bonus

MANILA, Philippines - Americans Victoria Hurtt and Sareea Freemen proved good as advertised as they powered PLDT Home Ultera to a 25-12, 25-12, 23-25, 25-21 victory over KIA Forte yesterday to clinch the other twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinal round of the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Reinforced Conference at The Arena in San Juan.

Hurtt, one of the two imports PLDT tapped to bolster its campaign, hammered in 20 kills in an impressive show of power skills as the Ultra Fast Hitters recovered from a third-set breakdown to foil Kia Forte’s semis playoff bid and tow University of the Philippines and Navy to the Final Four.

PLDT thus ended the single round elims with a 4-1 card and will likely settle for No. 2 pending the result of the Army-UP showdown being played at presstime.

Army, which took the first semis bonus, is eyeing a sweep of the six-team elims while UP, with a 2-2 card, is seeking to nail the No. 3 berth in the semis of the event presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by Mikasa and Accel.

With Kia ending up with a 1-4 mark, the same output by fellow ousted team Coast Guard, Navy assured itself of a spot in the next round with the Nos. 3 and 4 to be decided after the Army-UP clash.

The crossover semis will be played next Sunday.

Freeman, the other PLDT reinforcement from Florida State, added 15 hits as the local aces took a backseat although Janine Marciano still dished out 10 points and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Sue Roces added nine and seven markers, respectively.

“They’ve practiced with the team for only two days so we expect more from them,” said PLDT coach Roger Gorayeb, bracing for a title duel with the fancied Army side.

Expecting a rout, the Ultra Fast Hitters found a tougher Kia Forte side in the third, finding themselves trailing by three, the last at 15-18.