PLDT was made to work before pulling off a 25-19, 19-25, 25-16, 25-21 win over Galeries Tower in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Saturday at the Candon City Arena.
That’s now three straight victories for the High Speed Hitters to open the second round of pool play, moving past Creamline for the meantime into second place at 5-1 in the combined standings.
What looked like an imminent PLDT sweep took a turn in the second canto, as the Highrisers repeatedly built four-point cushions before France Ronquillo’s drop ball sealed their first set win of the conference after five straight sweep losses.
In the end, Galeries Tower’s 0-6 card with two pool play games left made them the second team after Nxled to bow out of playoff contention.
Savi Davison bailed the High Speed Hitters out of a brewing Highrisers surge, sparking a 15-6 run from a 10-all deadlock in the third to snuff out the upset bid.
The Fil-Canadian winger finished with 21 points on 18 attacks and three blocks.
“We didn’t start as strong as we wanted. They actually caught up to us in the second set, but we made up for it. I’m just glad we were able to close it out and finish the game strong,” Davison said.
Blocking proved to be PLDT's strong suit, producing 15 in the match. Russian spiker Anastasiia Bavykina contributed four blocks on her way to a 22-point performance, while Kianna Dy added another four and led the locals in scoring with 12 points.
Majoy Baron was instrumental on floor defense with 10 points and five digs, as captain Kath Arado led the team with 21 digs.
Best effort yet
It wasn’t a win, but it was easily the Highrisers’ best performance yet in this conference against the two-time PVL champions.
Ronquillo and Montenegrin winger Jelena Cvijovic each scored 15 points, with Cvijovic also racking up 14 receptions.
Rookie middle blocker Jean Asis put up 13 points, while Ysa Jimenez added 12 points and four digs.
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