Kingwhale Taipei opened its 2022 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference semifinals campaign with a 26-24, 25-18, 26-24 sweep of Army-Black Mamba, Monday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Brazilian reinforcement Beatriz Flavio de Carvalho converted 13 attacks for 14 points while team captain and playmaker Liao Yi-Jen steered the offense with 22 excellent sets for the Taiwanese club, who moved to 1-0 in the standings.
Chen Li-Jun and Wang Yu-wen delivered 10 points each for KingWhale with the former also contributing 14 excellent digs.
“This is the first time that KingWhale mixed the young players and old players, in this tournament in the Philippines. They’re happy that the PVL invited KingWhale Taipei to go here,” said Taipei head coach Teng Yen-Min.
In a bid to end their campaign with a win, the Lady Troopers — powered by Jem Gutierrez — went on a 4-0 run late in the fourth set to take a 23-21 advantage.
However, Flavio de Carvalho and Chang Chih-Hsuan spoiled Army’s plans, scoring two consecutive points to tie the game at 23-all.
Jovelyn Gonzaga put her side at match point but that proved to be it for the Lady Troopers as Flavio de Carvalho and Wang Yu-Wen put on the finishing touches to chalk KingWhale’s first win in the tourney.
“Happy, and they were fighting. The combination was a little different in Taiwan. I hope in the next game tomorrow against PLDT, we can be better than today,” added Teng.
No player from Army reached double digits in scoring with Jovelyn Gonzaga scoring a team-high eight points. She also had 14 excellent digs in the team’s final match that saw them end the semifinals with a 0-4 slate.
Guttierrez and Audrey Paran, who both only played in the final set, followed suit with four points. Anngela Nunag finished with 22 excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions while Ivy Perez was held to just seven excellent sets.
Army capped off the tournament in fifth place.
Kingwhale will take on PLDT tomorrow, Tuesday at 4:00 PM.
