Coming from two deflating losses that blurred its hopes of a title, the BanKo dumped its frustrations on Motolite, 25-23, 25-23, 25-18, in Game One of the 2019 PVL Open Conference bronze medal match, Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Perlas Spikers flashed their experience as a perennial Final Four contender, wriggling past Motolite down the wire of the opening and second frames. Then in the decisive third set, they sat on a precarious 18-15 cushion.
From that point onward, though, the Perlas Spikers had all the answers whenever Motolite tried to pump life into its comeback bid. Sue Roces rattled off hit after hit in response to Myla Pablo’s and Fhem Emnas’ exploits.
Roma Doromal and Kathy Bersola then pushed BanKo to a 23-18 advantage. The dynamic duo of Nicole Tiamzon and Dzi Gervacio iced the game for good.
Tiamzon showed the way for the Perlas Spikers with 13 points built on 11 attacks. Meanwhile, Gervacio and Roces supplemented 11 markers each. Bersola anchored above the net as she netted half of her team’s eight kill blocks to finish with 10 points.
Doromal came off the bench in the second set, contributing six markers and stepping up in lieu of the injury-stricken Ella De Jesus, who returned to BanKo’s dugout midway through the match.
Battle-tested playmaker Jem Ferrer orchestrated the offense for the Perlas Spikers, dishing out 11 excellent sets. She also had 10 excellent digs to her name.
“It’s been a long season for us, so we just wanted to enjoy. And eto na ‘yun eh — wala na kaming other games, so hundred percent na. Mas gusto namin na mag-enjoy na lang and hope na makapag-podium finish pa rin kami,” Tiamzon said.
Motolite, on the other hand, heavily relied on its hard-hitting tandem of Pablo and Tots Carlos in a losing cause. Both ended up with game-high 14-point outings, with the latter lacing her offense with 11 excellent receptions.
Isa Molde managed seven markers, while collecting 13 excellent digs that went for naught. Meanwhile, Thang Ponce manned the floor with 12 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions. Setter Iris Tolenada slumped anew with seven excellent sets.
Game Two is on Saturday, November 9, at the same venue.
