Motolite jockeys for semis position

MANILA, Philippines — Motolite enhanced its bid for a better semifinal seeding as it pounded PacificTown-Army, 25-21, 25-23, 25-14, to move to joint third with BanKo-Perlas in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference elims at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

Tots Carlos unloaded another 14-hit game which Myla Pablo matched in just two sets while Isa Molde ably backed them up with 10 markers as Motolite overcame Army’s pressure in the first two sets before cruising in the next to complete the 81-minute romp.

It was Motolite’s third straight win and 10th overall against five defeats as it caught up with BanKo-Perlas at third in a spirited battle for the Top 2 and 3 rankings among three teams, including second running PetroGazz (10-4).

Motolite, which subdued Army in five in their first round clash last Sept. 1, went up by just five spikes in its power duel with the veteran Army side, 43-38, and even lost by one in blocking, 4-5. But it produced two more aces and cashed in on its rivals’ miscues to fashion out the straight-sets triumph.

Motolite scored 23 points off Army’s errors while yielding 12 as the team stayed on crack for at least the No. 3 spot in an attempt to face unbeaten Creamline early on in the Final Four of the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision.

The Lady Troopers fell to their fifth straight loss for a 6-9 card with Jovelyn Gonzaga firing 17 hits but failing to draw solid support from the likes of Royse Tubino, who was held to just six markers by the tough defending Motolite side, which also drew five points apiece from Genn Layug and Bernadette Flora.

Meanwhile, Creamline tries to move closer to a rare sweep of the double-round elims as it guns for No. 15 against BanKo-Perlas at 2 p.m. today while PetroGazz tries to firm up its hold of No. 2 against ousted BaliPure at 4 p.m.