THE BaliPure Water Defenders and Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors fan the flames of rivalry once more as they clash at the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference Finals this Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The game will be aired live on S+A, S+A HD on cable TV, and via livestreaming on premiervolleyballleague.com at 6 p.m.
Serving as a curtain-raiser, the Hair Fairy Air Force Lady Jet Spikers and Creamline Cool Smashers also open their duel for third place at 4 p.m. The league will also present this conference’s individual awards in between the matches.
The Lady Warriors clinched their fourth-straight trip to the Finals with a surprise performance from Heather Guino-o to pull the rabbit out of their hat after being down 0-2 in the deciding game of their series against the Lady Jet Spikers 16-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-10.
Meanwhile, the Water Defenders pummeled an Alyssa Valdez-less Cool Smashers side in straight sets in their own do-or-die game, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23, to set up the grueling battle with their rivals.
Expected to lead the fight for the Coach Rico De Guzman’s squad in their quest to add to their trophy rack is Pocari’s MVP frontrunning pair of Myla Pablo and Jeanette Panaga. For the Roger Gorayeb-mentored, leading their charge in their quest for their first-ever PVL crown is Grethcel Soltones, Risa Sato, and Jasmine Nabor.
Meanwhile, the Tai Bundit-mentored Cool Smashers, sans superstar Valdez, gun for another podium finish, led by Pau Soriano, setter Jia Morado, and Ces Racraquin against Lady Jet Spikers, who will rely on the likes of Joy Cases, Wendy Semana, and Mary Ann Pantino. Prior to their semifinals loss, the Cool Smashers were unbeaten and pacing the league, even winning games in the absence of its star player.
Over at the men’s side, Cignal HD Spikers moved one win closer to the 2017 PVL Open Conference diadem when they defeated Mega Builders, the only team to lay a scratch on their record, in four sets 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17 behind Ysay Marasigan who went off for 21 points. Bryan Bagunas, who led Mega Builders with 14, was not able to stave off Cignal by himself when Marasigan received ample support from Peter Torres (11 points) and Edmar Bonono (14 points).
The PVL has been making waves, now in the second conference of its inaugural tournament, where it introduced the innovative multi-cam livestream that allows viewers to choose the angle form which to watch the games online. The hashtag #PVLonABSCBN also trends on social media frequently every game day, along with words and hashtags related to the tournament.