BALIPURE arranged a finals clash with Pocari Sweat after it turned back Creamline, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23, in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference semifinals decider on Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan.
Game One of the best-of-three Finals is on Saturday.
Jerrili Malabanan tallied 15 points for the Water Defenders, while Grethcel Soltones added 13 markers and Aiko Urdas scored 12.
“Hindi naman, ‘di ko ineexpect na tatlo (sets lang ang laro). Siyempre, ang expectation ko manalo kami irregardless kung ilang set, manalo, you go to the Finals, yun ang importante sa akin,” said BaliPure coach Roger Gorayeb.
It was Creamline’s sixth game without top hitter Alyssa Valdez, who played in the 19th AVC Asian Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championships at the same time the Cool Smashers were playing against the Water Defenders.
But Gorayeb told his wards to always be at their top performance with or without Valdez.
“We do not look at it as wala si Alyssa. We have to play to the best of our ability,” he said.
Pau Soriano made 13 points for Creamline, which started the tournament with an 8-0 record but ended their campaign with back-to-back losses.
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