KURASHIKI Ablaze made amends for an abrupt end to its title defense by salvaging bronze following a straight-set, 25-22, 26-24, 25-20, win over Thailand’s EST Cola in the 2024 PVL Invitational Conference battle for third on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Japanese champion club made it back-to-back PVL podiums in its second Philippine stint after winning the Invitationals over Creamline in their debut campaign last year.
EST Cola, represented by Thailand’s under-20 national team and led by Thai greats Wanna Buakaew, Wilavan Apinyapong and Pleumjit Thinkaow, ends its PVL debut with one win in five matches played.
Tanabe Saki, a holdover of Kurashiki's 2023 PVL title run, led Ablaze back to the top three places with 13 attacks.
Heartbreak is one thing, ego's another
Ending its title defense in a five-set defeat still stings for Ablaze. But such a pain was one they had to shrug off in less than 24 hours before contesting the bronze medal game.
They may not be in their highest spirits but Kurashiki head coach Hideo Suzuki made sure his wards would still keep their heads up and seize a huge opportunity to land on the podium.
"We were sad last night but we needed to reset our mindset because playing here in the Philippines is a good opportunity. Going into this game (against EST Cola), the team talked about giving their best this game,” Suzuki said in Nihonggo.
But podium aside, Suzuki was pleased to have his team take on a much-improved PVL field quality-wise compared to their first Philippine trip last year where they won their first league title.
In his words, it was a 'shocking' upshift of quality that Creamline, Cignal and Farm Fresh exhibited in the week-long conference.
"I was shocked to see how Filipino teams have leveled up this year. The local teams have even more fans now which is why our team lost a bit of confidence," Suzuki bared.
"But if there's a chance next year, we'd want to join the PVL again."
Saki had high praise for the PVL field that she believes is now mimicking the Japanese style of play.
"Compared to last year, Philippine teams are using more combination plays just like the Japanese style of play. It gave us a hard time. We also had trouble dealing with illnesses within the team."
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