AFTER a pair of lopsided triumphs over lowly teams, newcomer Megabuilders braces for a tougher challenge when they square off with Instituto Estetico Manila in tomorrow’s (Saturday) resumption of the Premier Volleyball League Men’s Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
The Volley Bolt actually debuted with a five-set reversal over the fancied Army Troopers before toppling Café Lupe and Gamboa Coffee Mix via a pair of three setters.
That put Megabuilders on top with Cignal TV with 3-0 cards with the Volley Bolt hoping to build on their strong start as they gear up for tougher battles against the league’s fancied teams.
Against the IEM Phoenix Volley Masters, coach Dante Alinsunurin is confident he could again draw superb games from his starters, including Francis Saura, Fauzi Ismail, Madzlan Gampong, Vincent Ogoc, Kim Malabunga and Bryan Bagunas.
Gametime is at 1 p.m. after the 10 a.m. clash between defending champion Air Force and winless Café Lupe.
Megabuilders has actually banked on its net defense in its early surge with Saura and Malabunga emerging the top blockers with 0.91 and 0.73 averages by set three weeks into the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
As a team, the Volley Bolt has produced a league-leading 32 kills blocks for a 2.91 norm but the IEM side could pose a real challenge as the top digging team while emerging second to Cignal TV in setting.
The Volley Masters has a 2-1 card in the early going of the league backed by Mikasa and Asics, sweeping Café Lupe and Gamboa but bowling to Sta. Elena.
Meanwhile, Air Force seeks to bounce back from a five-set loss to Army last Sunday and boost its card to 3-1 as it tangles with Café Lupe in the opener.
Games can be viewed live on www.sports.abs-cbn.com/livestream/pvl.
Games tomorrow
10 a.m. – Café Lupe vs Air Force (men’s)
1 p.m. – IEM vs Megabuilders (men’s)
4 p.m. – Pocari Sweat vs
Creamline (women’s)
6:30 p.m. – Power Smashers vs Perlas (women’s)
