After falling in their opening game of the conference against the PAF Jet Spikers, the Bali Pure Purest Water Defenders have been one of the hottest teams in the 2016 Shakey’s V-League Open Conference, having strung together five straight wins. The only team on a better streak than them is their next assignment: the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors.
With the blockbuster match-up happening this Saturday, the Water Defenders wasted no time preparing themselves mentally for the match-up. Immediately after gaining their fifth consecutive win, head coach Charo Soriano and the entire team spent at least 30 minutes in the locker room.
“We really want to prepare ourselves physically and mentally for the Pocari game,” Soriano shared about the post-game huddle. “We need to make sure that we are fluid inside the court and keep the positive vibes going. We need to make sure that everyone talks.”
To better prepare themselves against the league leaders, the Water Defenders booked three tune-up games tomorrow and on Friday, one against the current Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles. “We are really preparing for the next game. Actually we are training tomorrow and on Friday in Ateneo,” she added. “We’re playing the Lady Eagles and having tune-ups with two other teams to prepare ourselves not just for Saturday but for the next round as well.”
Soriano believes that controlling the pace of the game on Saturday will help limit the production of the returning Smash Sisters.
“We already know how Michele [Gumabao] and Myla [Pablo] play. We’ve seen them play during their college years,” she said about Smash Sisters. “Michele is a good player and she delivers a lot for her team. If we serve well and tough and we make sure that it will be hard for them to set-up the ball, those are the things that we need to have control of.”
“We want to treat the Pocari game on Saturday as mutually exclusive from the rest of the games. It’s going to be a good game but that won’t be the only gauge,” she concluded.
The showdown between the Bali Pure Purest Water Defenders and the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors is set to happen on Saturday, June 25 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
