Ho Chi Minh City picked up its first win by pulling off a massive upset of defending champion PLDT, 28-26, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference on Thursday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Team captain Dang Thi Kim Thanh and 16-year-old Ho Thi Bich Diep spearheaded the attack for the Vietnamese side, with the former finishing with 19 points on 17 attacks and two aces to go with 13 excellent digs, while the latter chipped in 18 points.
“During this event, not just this match, we came in as the underdogs, and we knew we were going to face tough competition from the very beginning,” said Dang after the win.
“For today’s match, we wanted to relax and play our game instead of worrying about who we would play against or what we needed to do. We wanted to focus more on what we needed to improve within ourselves,” she added.
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Le Thi My Xuyen and Dao Thi Nung chipped in 14 points each as Ho Chi Minh City snapped a two-game skid and improved to 1-2.
Nguyen Thi Hoai Mi dished out 23 excellent sets to go with three points, while Hoang Thi Thanh Ngoc registered 11 excellent receptions and nine excellent digs in one hour and 50 minutes of action.
After back-to-back losses to Farm Fresh and Creamline, the Vietnamese squad turned things around and stunned PLDT in four sets, dominating the High Speed Hitters in attacks, 64-57, while also holding a 10-9 edge in blocks.
Ho Chi Minh City will look to sustain its momentum against Nxled on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the same venue.
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On the other hand, PLDT continued to slide, absorbing its second consecutive defeat to fall to 1-2.
Kianna Dy posted her best game of the tournament with 25 points on 22 attacks, two blocks, and one ace, while Savannah Davison recorded a triple-double of 16 points, 19 excellent receptions, and 14 excellent digs.
Kim Fajardo orchestrated the offense with 23 excellent sets, while Kath Arado tallied 23 excellent digs.
The High Speed Hitters will look to snap their two-game slide against Farm Fresh on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
