Spikers eye semis playoff vs Oragons

MANILA, Philippines — BanKo-Perlas looks for consistency – and at least a playoff for a semifinal berth – as it tangles with a resurgent Iriga-Navy squad while Pocari Sweat-Air Force and BaliPure-National University try to get back on track in the quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Reinforced Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan today.

Though coming up on top with their 25-19, 25-14, 25-22 victory over the Lady Warriors last Saturday, the Perlas Spikers hope to be more consistent especially in facing Lady Oragons’ imports Macy Ubben and Lauren Whyte in the 6:30 p.m. match.

“We gave a lot of free points in the third set due to errors against Pocari Sweat. We also waned in our reception. Hopefully, we can be more consistent. This is a game of imports so if you give Iriga-Navy’s reinforcements a chance to perform, you can’t be assured of the victory,” said BanKo-Perlas coach Dong dela Cruz.

Americans Ubben and Whyte unloaded 25 points each to tow the Lady Oragons to their first victory Saturday, a hard-fought 25-9, 21-25, 26-28, 25-21, 15-13 decision over the Tacloban Fighting Warriors, after dropping eight straight games dating back to the elims.

Iriga-Navy coach Edgardo Rusit hopes that his squad will carry this winning mentality heading into the crucial stretch of the quarters.

“With the victory, the players began to trust themselves. They felt how good it was to win so maybe in our last two games, they will do their best to sustain that. No matter what happens, we need to win in our last two games and maybe we’ll still have a chance on a tiebreak,” said Rusit.