By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
More than two weeks ago, PLDT had never tasted championship glory in the Premier Volleyball League. Tonight, they stood as two-time champions, writing a stunning new chapter in their history.
The High Speed Hitters bucked a first-set hiccup and turned back Japanese collegiate team Kobe Shinwa University, 21-25, 31-29, 25-22, 25-18, to capture the PVL Invitational Conference at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night, Aug. 31.
Banking on their experience and power led by Fil-Canadian Savi Davison, PLDT rose to the challenge against the quick, methodical plays of the Japanese visiting crew for its first back-to-back title in league history.
They came into the conference on a high from winning the PVL On Tour crown.
The victory was sweet for the High Speed Hitters as they swept another tournament, finishing with a pristine 5-0 record in the preliminaries before outsmarting Kobe Shinwa in the knockout finals.
Davison displayed another flawless performance, unloading 19 kills to steer the High Speed Hitters with 20 points.
Kianna Dy was equally impressive, flashing her game-long brilliance to chip in 17 points highlighted by four blocks, while rookie sensation Alleiah Malaluan and Mika Reyes contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Davison, who was later adjudged Conference Most Valuable Player, admitted it was never easy playing against a young squad — even if they reaffirmed their supremacy over Kobe Shinwa following their 25-20, 25-22, 25-23 win in the preliminaries.
“They’re a really good team. It’s one of the hardest games we played this year,” said Davison.
“But we came into this game knowing that if they give us an opportunity, we have to take it,” she added.
Skipper Kath Arado, who also went home with the Best Libero plum, echoed the sentiment.
“Every sacrifice paid off. Sobrang happy and proud ako sa team na to,” she said.
Indeed, PLDT showed its composure after digging itself from an 18-21 deficit in the second set with four straight points courtesy of Davison, Dy and Fajardo to grab the 22-21 lead.
They held on despite strong retaliation from Kobe Shinwa, before the Japanese’s unforced errors led to PLDT’s set win.
That boosted the confidence of the High Speed Hitters, as the Japanese spikers fell into a maze of errors in the succeeding sets that led to their downfall.
Nagisa Komatsuda, who won the Best Outside Spiker along with Creamline’s Jema Galanza, finished with 22 points, while Kokoro Yasuma and Reira Miyazaki added 14 and 11 points, respectively, in a losing cause for Kobe Shinwa.
