The BanKo Perlas Spikers stayed hot to end the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference elimination round, squeaking past the Tacloban Fighting Warays, 25-22, 25-19, 29-31, 11-25, 15-11, at the Batangas Sports Coliseum.
BanKo, after taking the first two sets, crumbled in the next two and allowed Tacloban to drag the match into close fifth set. Tied at 8, Nicole Tiamzon sparked a BanKo rally that gave her team a 13-9 lead. Tacloban threatened to rally back, but Tiamzon capped the match with a powerful cross-court hit.
“Nag-collapse kami noong third set. Siguro dahil na rin sa kumpiyansa. Medyo pinahinga ko din ‘yung iba kong players,” said BanKo head coach Dong Dela Cruz as starters Joy Dacoron, Kathy Bersola, Sue Roces, and Jem Ferrer did not see action while Dzi Gervacio played just two sets.
Veteran middle blocker Sasa Devanadera led BanKo with 17 points while opposite hitter Roma Doromal added 15 markers.
BanKo ended the elimination round with an 11-3 record. They await the result of the Creamline-Adamson-Akari tiff to determine their seeding in the semis.
Jovielyn Prado and Heather Guino-O topped Tacloban in their final match with 20 and 17 markers, respectively.
Tacloban ends their campaign at sixth place with a 6-8 record.
The Scores
BanKo (3) – Devanadera 17, Doromal 15, Tiamzon 14, Villanueva 11, Gervacio 8, Tajima 6, Emnas 3, De Jesus (L), Tan (L)
Tacloban (2) – Prado 20, Guino-O 17, Marzan 10, Esguerra 9, Pacres 7, Bicar 4, Negrito 2, Velez 1, Guillema 0, Galang (L), Luzon (L)
