BY ABBY TORALBA
PLDT ripped Army Black Mamba 25-22, 25-18, 25-21 yesterday to launch its semifinals campaign on a rousing note in the PVL Invitational Conference at The Arena in San Juan.
Charming middle blocker Mika Reyes shone for the High Speed Hitters with 16 points, while Dell Palomata added 12 markers.
Toni Basas contributed 11 points, respectively, while Fiola Ceballos added 10 markers for PLDT.
Team captain Rhea Dimaculangan tossed 24 excellent sets and two markers for the High Speed Hitters.
“Lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila, umpisahan natin ng maganda, tatapusin natin ng maganda. Pero siyempre marami pa kaming adjustment na dapat gawin pa. Siyempre nandoon naman iyong goal talaga namin hindi lang iyon iyong gusto namin, step by step, one at a time,” PLDT coach George Pascua said.
“Kailangan makapunta kami doon sa goal. At least, kahit papaano na-a-achieve namin paunti-unti so maging ano lang kumbaga maging consistent lang,” he added.
The High Speed Hitters, who finished the eliminations at second with a 4-2 card, rose to 1-0 in the single-round semis.
PLDT came off a 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22 victory over Cignal four days ago.
The Lady Troopers failed to rebound from a 20-25, 22-25, 16-25 loss to Creamline last Saturday.
The High Speed Hitters raced to an 8-4 start in the first set after a service ace from Ceballos. Army tied the match at 20-all, but PLDT showed poise as Eli Soyud and Wendy Semana, who came from the bench, provided big lifts.
In the second frame, the High Speed Hitters matched the Lady Troopers’ grit with several deadlocks, but Palomata anchored PLDT’s breakway for an 18-13 count after a kill block.
