The Perlas Spikers looked well on their way to another loss, but a late surge in the third set buoyed them to a rousing five-set comeback win, 22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-12, in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
After giving up the first two sets, Perlas had been on the verge of the their second straight-set loss, trailing 20-22 in the third frame. But thanks to solid serving from veteran Sue Roces, the Perlas Spikers won the next five points to force a fourth set.
“Parang diesel nga kami; sobrang tagal bago uminit, bago gumalaw cohesively. We had our own frustrations. And that’s always been our problem, we get so frustrated easily,” said Perlas captain Dzi Gervacio.
From there, the Perlas played like a totally different team. They closed out the fourth set with relative ease thanks to solid floor defense and transitions that led to a 16-10 lead. Forcing a fifth set, Perlas never looked back, burying Bali Pure in a 12-6 hole to take the win.
“We just wanted to recover from our previous game (against Pocari Sweat) kasi natalo kami in three sets. We wanted to prove na we worked hard for every game and that we could bounce back,” added Gervacio who tallied 16 points.
Kiwi Amy Ahomiro led Perlas with 17 points, while Sasa Devanadera and Nicole Tiamzon hopped off the bench and managed 10 and 11 points, respectively.
Perlas finished their first round matches with a 3-2 slate.
Three-time NCAA MVP Grethcel Soltones powered Bali Pure with 20 points, while National University standout Risa Sato added 14.
Bali Pure settled for their first loss of the season and a 3-1 record.
The Scores
Perlas (3) – Ahomiro 17, Gervacio 16, Roces 11, Tiamzon 11, Devanadera 10, Bersola 5, Villanueva 4, Ferrer 2, Acevedo 0, De Jesus (L)
Bali Pure (2) – Soltones 20, Sato 14, Urdas 13, Malabanan 9, Singh 5, Nabor 4, Mendiola 2, Oliveros 2, Pantone (L)
