PLDT asserted its mastery of Army-Black Mamba, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21, at the start of the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference semifinals on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan.
Skipper Rhea Dimaculangan tallied 24 excellent sets and led four High Speed Hitters in double figures as the team repeated over this same Army team which it beat in four sets in their elimination-round encounter.
Off to a flyer
The straight-sets win augured well for the title campaign of PLDT, which finished tied with Cignal for the second-best record in the elims at 4-2 (win-loss) to kick off its semis campaign on a high note.
Leading best blocker candidate Mika Reyes and Dell Palomata led PLDT's offense with 15 and 11 attacks each while Fiola Ceballos recorded her first triple-double performance in the conference with 10 points, 15 digs and 14 receptions.
PLDT edged Army with a 52-39 advantage in attacks, 4-1 edge in blocks, and a 6-3 upper hand in aces while its defense limited Lady Troopers' ace Jovelyn Gonzaga to only six points - her lowest output in the conference.
Ceballos and Jules Samonte - who finished with nine points and 12 digs - combined for 62 digs and 33 receptions, well over Army's 48 digs and 19 receptions for the High Speed Hitters while Toni Basas added 10 points.
Royse Tubino was the lone bright spot for Army (3-3 win-loss in the elims) with 10 points.
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