Pocari-Air Force hopes to ride the momentum of its four-set victory over PetroGazz last weekend as it shoots for the solo lead against Iriga-Navy in the quarterfinal round of the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Reinforced Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan today.
The Lady Warriors actually needed to check an early struggle to turn back the Angels, 18-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21, and match the BaliPure Water Defenders and the BanKo Perlas Spikers’ victories at the start of the single round quarters where the top two teams will join the Creamline and PayMaya sides in the Final Four.
Imports Arielle Love and Madeline Palmer and former MVP Myla Pablo are again expected to lead the defending champions’ bid for the early lead in the tight phase of the season-opening conference of the league organized by Sports Vision after the troika pooled 56 points against the Angels.
But though they beat the Lady Oragons in four sets in the elims, the Lady Warriors remain wary of their rivals who will be going all out to get the win and stay in the hunt for the last two semis seats in the tournament backed by Mikasa and Asics.
They tangle in the 6 p.m. main game after the 4 p.m. encounter between the Angels and the Tacloban Fighting Warays in the other crucial match where the winner will stay in the semis hunt and the loser falling to a deep hole.
Iriga-Navy missed pulling off a big reversal over BaliPure last Saturday, blowing a 2-1 set lead and absorbing a heart-breaking 17-25, 25-18, 25-20, 24-16, 18-16 loss. But imports Macy Ubben and Lauren Whyte are expected to better their 32 and 23-point efforts, respectively, while hoping to draw the best from the locals, including Cyndy Imbo, Divine Eguia, Angela Kim and Mary Jane Ticar in a bid to topple the Lady Warriors, who beat them in four in the elims.
Tacloban nipped PetroGazz in five in the elims but the Angels are raring to get back at the Fighting Warays on a team backstopped by imports Olena Lymareva-Flink and Anastasiia Trach.
Air Force and Army, meanwhile, collide in the men’s division at 1 p.m.
The women’s matches will be aired live on ABS-CBN Sports+Action Channel 23, ABS-CBN S+A HD Channel 166, LIGA on SkyCable Channel 86, LIGA HD on SkyCable Channel 183 and via streaming while the men’s games can be viewed via streaming.