PLDT bowed out of the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference in style with its first-ever franchise win over Creamline, 22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 27-25, on Thursday at the PhilSports Arena
Savi Davison dealt the semis-bound Cool Smashers a prelims-ending defeat with 27 points built on 25 attacks, one block and one ace on top of 15 excellent receptions.
READ: Aby Marano's leadership brings Chery Tiggo to PVL semifinals
Apart from a third-straight fifth-place finish, the now-eliminated High Speed Hitters dispatched the defending champions for the first time in eight head-to-head matches since the former joined the league in 2021.
"(This win) just shows our hardwork throughout the conference. No matter the ups and downs, we were always able to show up better the next day. So I’m really proud of the group that we have this conference and I can’t wait to see what we do next conference," said Davison.
"I don’t think there’s a missing piece. I think we have all the pieces. It’s just that we have to put them together, just figuring out the puzzle. It’s knowing what kind of role people have to play and how we put that together, how we play beside each other," she added.
Chery Tiggo's five-set win over Galeries Tower in the opening bout of the penultimate day of prelims action slammed the door shut on PLDT's semifinals bid by virtue of superior match points.
And although they were already out of the semis race before their elimination round finale even began, the High Speed Hitters exited with a bang by dealing Creamline its first three-loss conference in the preliminaries since the 2018 Open Conference.
Erika Santos and Fiola Ceballos boosted PLDT's winning exit on the offensive end with 15 and 13 markers (10 digs and six receptions) respectively. Non-scoring contributions were also of the essence from veteran aces Kath Arado (16 digs) and Kim Fajardo (16 excellent sets).
Albeit already semis-bound, the defending champions struggled to overcome a rare off-night marred by 26 unforced errors in the four-set contest. Jema Galanza paced the defeat with 16 points while Tots Carlos came off the bench for the first time this conference and pitched in 12 markers.
Team captain Alyssa Valdez manned the Cool Smashers' defense with 12 receptions and six digs alongside six points.
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