BY ABBY TORALBA
THE Philippines seeks a semifinals slot when it faces Australia today in the quarterfinals of the AVC Challenge Cup for Women in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia.
The Filipinas need to hurdle the Aussies at 5:30 p.m. at the Tri Dharma Petrokimia Gresik Gymnasium in Pool E play to gain a slot in the semis.
Last Wednesday, the Philippine squad survived a five-set thriller against India 25-22, 26-28, 11-25, 29-27, 18-16 in their quarterfinals tiff, boosting their chances of reaching the Last Four.
Opposite spiker Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and outside hitter Shaya Adorador tallied 27 and 23 points, respectively, to lift the national team over India.
“The biggest goal I had in mind was to see these players connect and support one another on and off the court and I have seen that,” national coach Jorge Souza de Brito said via the AVC website.
“The biggest preparation for the players for the next match is to mostly rest and reset,” he added.
Aside from Pontillas and Adorador, also expected to make key contributions are Faith Nisperos, setter Djanel Cheng, Bang Pineda and AC Miner.
Australia, two days ago, fell to Indonesia in their quarterfinals collision 13-25, 17-25, 16-25.
Aching for a bounce back are Aussies Mikaela Stevens, Sarah Burton, Kasey Hogan and Kara Inskip.
