MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
Playing in its first international tournament, PLDT knows that it is going to must step up big-time to be able to contend within the Asian Volleyball Confederation Champion’s League that’s stuffed with high-caliber teams.
That’s why even after taking a 26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 15-9 loss by the hands of powerhouse Thai crew Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC on Tuesday at PhilSports Arena, the High Speed Hitters are seeing a really thick silver lining moving forward.
“[What we are doing] is paying off little by little,” seasoned libero and captain Kath Arado said, happy with pushing the rock-solid Thais to the limit before dropping to 1-1 to complete second in Pool D that sealed a quarterfinal clash with Pool A top seed Zhetysu VC on Thursday.
“That’s what we said within the pregame, to only give their all whatever the result and we’re okay with that,” coach Rald Ricafort said. “There isn’t a team that plays at a better level than a champion team from Thailand, so we played well and we’re happy with our performance.”
The Thais can be the issue of one other local squad in Creamline within the quarterfinals, after the Cool Smashers finished second when Zhetysu VC delivered one other masterclass performance in a 25-10, 25-15, 25-11 dismantling of Al Naser that left the Jordanian squad winless of their group.
The Kazakhstan champions were on top of things from start to complete, overwhelming the Jordanians and leaving no window for resistance as they capped pool play with an unblemished record—fueling their momentum heading into the quarterfinals.
Creamline also wound up with a 1-1 record for No. 2 in its pool, with Al Naser, which also lost in straight sets to the Cool Smashers, ending winless.
“I feel it just goes to indicate that the Philippines can compete,” Savi Davison said after ending with 25 points to guide PLDT, which lost an 8-7 lead within the fifth set. “They (Thais) were, I feel [bronze medalists] of their league so it’s an enormous deal for us to push them to 5 (sets).”
Big early deficit
The six-time champions showed their might early, racing to a two-set lead using great floor defense paired with powerful hits.
PLDT then doggedly clawed back to attract level as Wilma Salas helped a terrific deal.
“It’s a great experience to be competing on this league and play against international teams,” said Kim Kianna Dy after scoring 12 points. “Very blissful with how we played, that we were in a position to push it to 5 sets. So for us, we saw that we will play with them,”
“To a point, we gained lots of experience,” Ricafort said. “But our players all the time wish to compete and improve every game.
“We’ll proceed doing this. We’re close [to what we want to achieve], and we’re doing okay,” he said. “We all know that we are going to level up because this tournament requires it.” INQ
