Pocari-BaliPure title duel on
Risa Sato of BaliPure unloads a hard spike while teammate Jasmine Nabor looks on during their rubber match with Creamline for a final berth in the PVL Reinforced Conference. JOEY MENDOZA
MANILA, Philippines - Pocari Sweat gears up for a title repeat while BaliPure shoots for a breakthrough as they clash in the opener of their best-of-three showdown for the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference crown at the Philsports Arena in Pasig tonight.
The Lady Warriors and the top-seeded Water Defenders rebounded from stinging five-set defeats in Game Two of their respective best-of-three semis against the Power Smashers and the Creamline Cool Smashers with emphatic sweep in the decider last Thursday to arrange the 6:30 p.m. face-off.
That guarantees a slam-bang action in the series’ opener to be telecast live on S+A Channel 23. The 4 p.m. clash for third between Creamline and the Power Smashers will also be aired live, according to Sports Vision.
American outside hitter Michelle Strizak and Myla Pablo towed Pocari Sweat to its third straight finals appearance with their combined 36-point output in their 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 victory in Game Three and are expected to lead the Lady Warriors anew along with Jeanette Panaga, Maricar Nepomuceno, skipper Gyzelle Sy.
American Krystal Rivers also hopes to provide added firepower for Pocari as the former NCAA Division I player from University of Alabama finally secured her ITC (International Transfer Certificate) Thursday.
Rivers, a prolific scorer, hit town last May 27 to replace injured Edina Selimovic but couldn’t suit up without the ITC, which also hampered the stints of the rest of the imports in the early going of the season-opening conference of the league.
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