Petrogaz and Pocari-Air Force tangle today, Wednesday in a key duel of teams fighting it out for the last semifinal berth even as Creamline tries to recover lost grounds against a skidding Tacloban in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
The Angels bucked a long layoff and blasted the Iriga-Navy Lady Oragons in three last Saturday to firm up their hold of the No. 4 spot at 5-3. But they gear up for a fierce showdown with the Lady Warriors, who are out not to only to snap a two-game skid but stay in the semis hunt heading to the last stretch of the double-round elims.
Gametime is at 4 p.m.
Relegated to fifth at 4-5, the Lady Warriors need to hurdle the Angels again to keep their Final Four hopes alive in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Asics.
Pocari edged PetroGazz in five in their first round encounter last Sept. 26 but after romping past the Lady Oragons and the Adamson Lady Falcons, the Lady Warriors dropped a pair of five setters to the Cool Smashers and the Tacloban Fighting Warays then absorbed a stinging 0-3 beating from the surging Ateneo Lady Eagles last Oct. 27.
But the long rest should give the Myla Pablo-led squad the chance to figure things out as they brace for a pair of tough games – against the Cool Smashers in Legazpi City on Sunday and versus the BanKo-Perlas Spikers on Nov. 14.
Creamline, meanwhile, tries to bounce back from its five-set defeat to Ateneo last Oct. 28 as it squares off with Tacloban at 6 p.m. with the crowd favorites seeking to duplicate their shutout win over the Warays in the first round and re-join the Perlas Spikers at second at 7-2. Ateneo, priming up for the UAAP volley wars, sealed at least a playoff for a semis berth with a 9-2 slate.
But the Warays, who swept the Lady Warriors this conference, are also out to break a two-game skid and improve their 4-6 card in a bid to crowd the Angels and Lady Warriors in their fight for the fourth and last Final Four seat.