Malolos City—After carving out an impressive win the last time out, United VC seeks to keep rolling when it tackles a hungry Generika-Ayala side in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix Saturday in this historic city.
Game time is at 6 p.m. with United VC shooting for its third victory in five games of this prestigious women’s club tourney that has Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel Sogo and Data Project as technical sponsors.
Prior to that Foton and Cignal try to bounce back from bitter setbacks when they collide at 2 p.m. while Sta. Lucia and PLDT tangle in the 4 p.m. second match of this league that also has ESPN5 and 5Plus as technical sponsors.
Petron and F2 Logistics remain on top of the team standings with an identical 4-0 cards following impressive victories against separate foes Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Blaze Spikers made short work of the Lady Realtors, 25-8, 25-8, 25-18, while the Cargo Movers crushed the Tornadoes, 25-20, 25-20, 26-24, to gain momentum heading into their highly-anticipated battle next Thursday also at the same San Juan venue.
But the biggest victory was that of United VC.
With import Yasmeen Bedart-Ghani and Filipino-American Kalei Mau doing damage, United VC emerged victorious, 25-22, 25-13, 29-27, to move back on winning track while snapping the HD Spikers’ three-game winning streak.
“This is a statement win,” said United VC coach Joshua Ylaya, adding that their loss to F2 Logistics fueled their desire to bounce back.
“Our loss to F2 Logistics served as motivation for us to do better. We need that kind of game to test the character of this young team and I’m proud that they stuck together, especially down the stretch.”
Against Generika-Ayala, United VC is tipped to have its hands full.
The Lifesavers have lost their first four matches, no thanks to the ankle injury suffered by Brazilian spiker Nikolle del Rio in their opening match.
With del Rio riding the bench, the Lifesavers lost three straight wins, prompting them to tap Thai star Kanjana Kuthaisong to help Azerbaijani import Kseniya Kocyigit and local stars Patty Orendain, Fiola Ceballos and Ria Meneses.
Kuthaisong was obviously still adjusting as she delivered 13 points in the Lifesavers’ 25-19, 17-25, 15-25, 19-25 loss to Cignal last Tuesday.
“Our hopes are high,” said Generika-Ayala coach Sherwin Meneses, whose wards are the only team without a single win in the early stretch of this import-flavored conference.
“We know that good things happen to those who work hard. So we’ll never stop working.”