PERPETUAL-Kinto Tyres crushed Chef on a Diet-FEU yesterday, scoring a 25-18, 25-17, 25-21 victory as the Altas barged into the semifinal round of the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference ahead of everybody else at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Altas kept the momentum of their intense five-set escape over the DLSU-Dasmariñas side at the close of pool play last Wednesday, controlling the match from the start while silencing the Tamaraws with a dominant offensive and capitalizing on their opponents’ mishits and miscues.
With Louie Ramirez on the firing end, Perpetual continued its assault in the second frame, building leads of 9-4 and 11-6 before pulling away at 17-9. Despite the Tamaraws’ attempt to regroup and reload, the Altas had responses for every FEU charge, claiming the victory in one hour and 33 minutes.
Perpetual nailed the first slot in the Final Four, a round-robin phase that will feature Japanese guest team Maruichi Hyogo.
“We kind of expected this (win),” said Ramirez, who finished with 22 points, including 18 on attacks, two blocks and two aces. “Pero pagbubutihin pa namin (sa semis), sa offense, floor defense and service.”
