Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

News

Ricafort allays fears on Mendrez injury: ‘Minor lang naman’


Mean Mendrez has been playing with a minor knee injury in PLDT’s 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference campaign – making her miss some games.

Fortunately, though, the High Speed Hitters did not need her services on Saturday with their championship hopes at stake.

PLDT breezed past a fresh-from-five-setter F2 Logistics, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18, to stay alive in the six-team round-robin semifinals.PVL-Invitational-PLDT-vs.-Cignal-Rald-Ricafort-1211 Ricafort allays fears on Mendrez injury: 'Minor lang naman' News PVL Volleyball  - philippine sports news

But if that game went down-the-wire, the University of the East product is good to go and ready to give her all.

“Si Mean lang ngayon medyo ninunurse yung tuhod, minor lang naman pero nago-on off talaga,” shared head coach Rald Ricafort.

“Kanina ready to go siya kung kailanganin buti na lang din kinaya nung nasa loob kaya more rest sa kanya.”

New addition Royse Tubino was at the forefront of PLDT’s attack with 20 big points built on 18 attacks, a block, and a service aces.

Fiola Ceballos, who filled the role of Mendrez in the starting lineup, made sure to deliver with nine points on 8-of-18 attacks.

The High Speed Hitters improved to 1-2 in the semifinals and now need to win their games against foreign teams for at least a shot at the two final tickets.

They will face Kinh Bac Bac Ninh of Vietnam on Monday before meeting Kurashiki Ablaze of Japan on Thursday.

With the compact schedule of the tournament and games close to each other, Ricafort said in this round, it will all boil down to the mental game.

He shared that their past on-court training has only been for one and a half hour, citing the players’ need of rest and recovery.

#ReadMore  Sherwin Meneses’ composure, trust keys in Creamline's success, gushes Tots Carlos

“Yung semis na ito more on mental na talaga aside sa physical. Ireready lang talaga yung mindset ng players na yung pasensya saka yung tiyagaan na ganito yung schedule,” said Ricafort, who also handles University of the Philippines’ men’s volleyball squad.

“Crucial yung nood mamaya pero kung ano man yung makuha doon plus yung aayusin lalo yung game namin against Cignal hindi namin talaga marecover yung pangit na laro yun,” he added as Kinh Bac and Kurashiki will go head-to-head later at 6:30 p.m.

Written By

Just a kid from Cavite trying to make a difference.


You May Also Like

News

Choco Mucho’s ever-supportive fan base proved to be a crucial factor in the team’s thrilling Game 1 quarterfinal victory over PLDT in the 2024-25...

News

Sisi Rondina delivered a masterful performance as Choco Mucho staged a dramatic reverse sweep over PLDT in a thrilling five-set encounter, 20-25, 19-25, 25-15,...

News

Creamline, Petro Gazz, and PLDT are preparing to take different paths in the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League after being drawn into separate groups,...

News

PLDT will join the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League as the third Philippine team after the Asian Volleyball Confederation granted the host nation an...

News

Four Filipina spikers are setting their sights on an international breakthrough, as Alyssa Solomon, Majoy Baron, Mars Alba, and Maddie Madayag take their chances...

News

Savi Davison exploded for a career-high 34 points in PLDT’s thrilling five-set victory over Creamline on February 15. Two weeks later, the Fil-Canadian outside...

News

Savi Davison refused to let PLDT falter. Matching her career-high with 34 points, the explosive Fil-Canadian outside hitter spearheaded the High Speed Hitters’ comeback...

News

PASSI, ILOILO — PLDT has consistently delivered strong performances in the past two Premier Volleyball League conferences, excelling in the preliminaries. However, despite their...

Advertisement