Top-ranked New Zealand-Bluefire Batangas and third-seeded Discovery-Rizal will now open their best-of-three Finals showdown in the inaugural professional season of the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Villar Coliseum.
The game was originally scheduled for last Sunday but was postponed due to Super Typhoon Uwan.
Both sides enter the championship stage riding momentum from emphatic semifinal sweeps.
The Valkyries handled Tagaytay-Tol in two straight games, while Perlas ousted San Juan-DN Steel in similar fashion to secure their spot in the title series of the tournament supported by Uratex, Black Mamba, Red Dynasty, Aktiv Balls, and Pocari Sweat.
New Zealand-Bluefire holds a mental edge after sweeping the regular-season matchups against Discovery-Rizal. The Valkyries dominated their first-round clash, 101-87, before escaping with a tighter 72-69 win in the second round — a game where Perlas led by 10 in the final five minutes before unraveling late.
Valkyries head coach Cholo Villanueva knows those wins mean little now that the stakes are higher, pointing out areas the team must sharpen to withstand Perlas’ physicality and intensity.
“We need to improve on especially our defensive rebounding. They had mga second, third chance points against us,” said Villanueva. “And just wanting it more than the other team.”
New Zealand-Bluefire will again lean on its star trio, bannered by Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Afril Bernardino, the resurgent Khate Castillo, and the ever-reliable Pringle Fabruada.
Still, Perlas is embracing the challenge of facing the only team they have yet to defeat this season. Head coach Derrick Pumaren admitted they must address late-game composure and ball security to have a chance at flipping the script.
“That’s the only team we have not beaten in this tournament so far. So it’s gonna be tough, we are up by like ten points, last four or five minutes, and then after that we lost the ball game. Hopefully it will be a different result next time,” Pumaren recalled.
“As I’ve said, hindi pa namin tinatalo ‘yan ‘no. We just need to be ready. We just have to take care of the basketball because our losses with them, we made a lot of turnovers, especially ‘yung fourth quarter. We just really have to take care of the basketball.”
Perlas counters with its own formidable core, led by Tantoy Ferrer, veteran playmaker Raiza Palmera-Dy, and do-it-all forward Allana Lim.
Both teams are peaking at the right time and carrying contrasting motivations — the Valkyries aiming to assert their dominance and Perlas striving for a breakthrough.
Game 1 on Wednesday is expected to set the tone for a tightly contested and historic championship series.
