BY ABBY TORALBA
FOREIGN guest team KingWhale Taipei ripped also-ran Army Black Mamba 26-24, 25-18, 26-24 yesterday in the semifinals of the PVL Invitational Conference at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Brazilian import Beatriz Flavio De Carvalho showed the way for the Taiwanese squad, second runner-up from the Taiwan Enterprise Volleyball League last season, with 14 points, 13 from attacks and one block for a rousing win in its opener in the single-round semis.
Li-Jun Chen and Wang also delivered 10 markers each for KingWhale, which arrived in the country last Saturday, while team captain Yi-Jen Liao tossed 22 excellent sets.
The Lady Troopers absorbed their fourth consecutive loss, counting a 24-26, 28-26, 18-25, 25-18, 14-16 defeat at the hands of Cignal last Saturday.
“I feel happy (that they were) fighting. The combinations were a little different from Taiwan,” KingWhale coach Yen-Min Teng said.
“I hope in out next game (against) PLDT, we can be better than today,” he added.
KingWhale, a blend of young and veteran players, saved a set point each in the first and third frames with a fine display of grace and composure while dominating the second to complete the one-hour, 30-minute romp that put the lone foreign guest squad on track for a finals berth while bundling out the Lady Troopers from the race.
Carvalho, a lefty, was a menacing presence whenever she was on flight, banging in vicious kills that often hit their targets to the delight of the crowd but to the chagrin of the Lady Troopers, who could not neutralize most of those blasts, one of which even hit Ivy Perez in the chest in the third set.
Kobe Shinwa of Japan was scheduled to join KingWhale in the semifinal round of the mid-season offering of the league organized by Sports Vision. But one player tested positive for Covid before their departure, forcing the entire team to call off its participation and reducing the semis cast to five teams.
KingWhale led early on 6-3 against Army and then padded its lead to 18-12 before Army tied the match at 23-all.
The Lady Troopers even took the lead 24-23 but Flavio De Carvalho knotted it before Chen ended the first set with a cross court hit.
KingWhale kept its poise and took a 24-18 after a running attack from Qin Yao Tsai. An attack error from Mich Morente of Army gave KingWhale the set.
The Taiwanese guest team did not look back from there.
Skipper Jovelyn Gonzaga paced the Lady Troopers with eight points, while Morente and Ivy Perez had five markers apiece.
