PLDT High Speed Hitters celebrate winning the PVL on Tour championship. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
PLDT is no longer the heartbreak kid of the PVL, although the High Speed Hitters looked close to staying that way on Sunday night.
The High Speed Hitters were dragged to the veritable limit by Chery Tiggo before outlasting the Crossovers, 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 24-26, 15-8, to capture the PVL on Tour championship on Sunday in front of 11,055 fans at Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: PVL on Tour: PLDT withstands Chery Tiggo for first title
PLDT was on the brink of another heartbreak after blowing a two-set lead, before Savi Davison and Mika Reyes led a regroup as the High Speed Hitters won their first title in their only PVL finals stint on the strength of a 9-4 start to the fifth set.
Reyes had her moments at the clutch, the last giving PLDT nine championship points that even a determined Chery Tiggo crew didn’t come close to overhauling.
Reyes, who went on to be named the Finals MVP, unleashed her career-high 20 points off 13 kills and seven blocks, before the comebacking Kianna Dy nailed the championship-clinching block on Cess Robles.
Davison flashed lethal form with a game-high 23 points, which came on the heels of a 34-point explosion that completed a five-set comeback over Creamline in the knockout semifinal last week.
It was the franchise’s first-ever PVL championship since joining in 2021, and this one was as sweet as it could be as the team pulled it out with Davison and some of the team’s old faces that count Reyes and Majoy Baron.
Dy and Baron both wound up with 13 points, with Baron’s tally including six blocks.
Steady defense
Kath Arado continued to be the heart and soul of PLDT with her leadership and steady floor defense as she finished with 29 digs and 13 excellent receptions, while Kim Fajardo displayed her vintage and brilliant playmaking with 25 excellent sets.
PLDT completed an eight-game sweep of the tournament, as coach Rald Ricafort stressed there’s no such thing as a preseason tournament for them. And winning this On Tour, which visited eight provinces, means everything.
The High Speed Hitters eye another title in the Invitational Conference starting on Thursday at Philsports Arena, where they will again face Chery Tiggo and semifinalists Creamline and Cignal as well as visiting Japanese teams Kurashiki Ablaze and Kobe Shinwa University.
Chery Tiggo finished with a silver medal in its first PVL final since the 2021 Open Conference inside the bubble in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, where it won the first title ever put up.
Galang had 22 points and eight digs, while Robles had 12 points.
Alyssa Valdez and the Creamline Cool Smashers learned a lot from finishing third and said they will take those lessons into the Invitational Conference next week.
Champs still learning
The Creamline Cool Smashers finish with the bronze medal in the PVL on Tour. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Valdez delivered 12 points, highlighted by four blocks, as Creamline destroyed Cignal 25-17, 29-27, 25-17 to capture the bronze medal.
The Cool Smashers made a podium finish for the 18th straight time since joining the PVL in 2017, winning their fourth bronze to add to their 10 championships.
As they seek to return to the top of the Invitationals, the three-time conference MVP said they will be bringing all the lessons from their tough losses, including a five-set meltdown to PLDT in the semifinal.
“Honestly, the losses. We really learned a lot from those,” Valdez told the Inquirer in Filipino. “The five-set loss to PLDT, the straight sets against Cignal [in the prelims]. Those hurt. They were tough games. But we’ll use those experiences to toughen us up.
“Hopefully, we can also carry the confidence we’ve built during this tour into the next games. That’s what we’re bringing with us.”
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Michele Gumabao delivered 21 points to lead Creamline.