The Bali Pure Purest Water Defenders got the best of their former star Alyssa Valdez’s new squad, convincingly sweeping the Bureau of Customs Transformers 26-24, 25-21, 25-21 in the Shakey’s V-League Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena.
After posting a league-record scoring output in her last match, Valdez was on Bali Pure’s radar. Her former team paid special attention to limiting their former captain.
“We all know naman Alyssa’s scoring prowess – that’s why she’s the Phenom,” pouted out Bali Pure veteran Charo Soriano. “That was really out focus – just trying to limit her points.”
Bali Pure’s strategy worked, especially in crucial moments of the match. With the first set in the balance, Bali Pure coaxed an attack and service error to win after a deuce.
The second frame came down to BOC surrendering a stretch of errors, three straight, to give Bali Pure a 21-17 advantage. The Purest Water Defenders then took control of the third frame after a 5-0 run powered by three attacks from import Katherine Morell for a 17-12 advantage.
“I think we really gelled more as a team during the past few days. We worked really hard on getting to know each other and just polishing a lot of the skills we knew we were going to bring out against Customs,” said Bali Pure team captain Kaylee Manns, who tossed 34 excellent sets.
Morell led all scorers with 17 points, while Dzi Gervacio and Amy Ahomiro each provided 10 markers.
Valdez tallied 16 points on 14 for 37 attacking, while Thai import Kanjana Kuthaisong added 16 of her own.
Bali Pure (1-1) will face the Philippine Air Force (1-2) on Monday, 4 pm. Customs (2-1) take on league-leading University of Santo Tomas (3-0) on Saturday 4 pm. Both matches will be at the PhilSports Arena.
The Scores
Bali Pure (3) – Morell 17, Gervacio 10, Ahomiro 10, Manns 4, Tajima 4, Roces 2, De Jesus 1, Soriano 1, Ferrer 0, Lazaro (L)
Customs (0) – Kuthaison 16, Valdez 16, Mabbayad 4, Vargas 4, Soriano 2, Jaisen 1, Marzan 1, Emnas 0, Mandapat 0, Ibisa (L)
