PLDT has the momentum but Petro Gazz has the experience, guaranteeing a furious, long-drawn battle for the second championship berth in the PVL All Filipino Conference.
The High Speed Hitters and the Angles face-off in sudden death at 5 p.m. today at the Mall of Asia Arena with odds just about even between two teams seeking a stab at the championship against the winningest club in the fold.
Creamline swept F2 Logistics in their side of the best-of-three series, pounding out a 25-22, 25-23, 25-16 victory last Tuesday night following its 26-24, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15 win in Game One, sending the defending champions to their eighth Finals appearance in the last nine conferences (Open, Reinforced and Invitational).
Petro Gazz, which yielded the crown to Creamline in the last two Open editions, looked headed to forging a third title showdown with the crowd favorites after repulsing PLDT, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18, in their series’ opener.
The Angels, who beat the Cool Smashers to annex their first PVL crown in the 2019 Reinforced Conference, also took the first set of Game 2 in empathic fashion but the High Speed Hitters pulled through in a pulsating second set endgame battle then dominated the next two to fashion out a 14-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-15 victory and force a sudden death.
PLDT coach Rald Ricafort said it was his wards’ will to win that carried them through the game they couldn’t afford to lose.
“Mabuti gumana yung match-up from the second set on, pero pareho naman na ubos na, kaya ‘yung will to win na lang ang pinanghawakan,” said Ricafort after keeping PLDT’s crack at a breakthrough finals appearance while halting his former team’s march to a third title shot in the league organized by Sports Vision.
While the High Speed Hitters have gained a big psychological edge following that key win, the Angels are expected to recover their rhythm and bearing and come up with the necessary adjustments in a day’s time.
Coach Oliver Almadro surely still has a trick up his sleeve after failing to knock up his wards, who simply lost the fire, character and competitiveness in the last two sets that enabled the High Speed Hitters to turn what had been a tight battle into a runaway triumph.
