MANILA, Philippines – Premium will be on stamina as Creamline, PetroGazz, BanKo-Perlas and Motolite brace for back-breaking back-to-back weekend semifinal games in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Top seed Creamline is expected to re-assert its mastery over the No. 4 Motolite, whom it dominated twice on its way to complete a record sweep of the double-round elims, but PetroGazz and BanKo Perlas could be in for a slambang duel.
The Perlas Spikers clobbered the Angels in four in the first round but the latter got back at the former in the next, fashioning out a three-game sweep en route to claiming the No. 2 ranking in the Final Four.
Despite the absence of top spiker Alyssa Valdez and playmaker Jia Morado, the Cool Smashers continued to dish out one big game after another to move four victories away from completing a grand sweep of the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision.
But Motolite vows to put up one, or two big fights, to spoil the Cool Smashers’ record drive behind the likes of Myla Pablo, Tots Carlos, Aie Gannaban, Isa Molde, Jessma Ramos, Genn Layug and skipper and setter Iris Tolenado, who will go up again against a powerhouse Creamline cast made up of Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao, Pau Soriano, Rosemarie Vargas, Celine Domingo and playmker Kyle Negrito.
Creamline and Motolite kick off semis hostilities at 2 p.m. with PetroGazz, who formalized its claim on No. 2 with a straight-set win over Choco Mucho at the close of the elims late Wednesday, and BanKo-Perlas facing off at 4 p.m.
The two pairs switch game times on Sunday with observers seeing another Creamline-PetroGazz title clash with the Cool Smashers itching to get back at their Reinforced Conference finals tormentors.