PLDT now has one hand on the bronze with a 22-25, 25-21, 27-25, 26-28, 15-11 Game 1 win over Farm Fresh in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference battle for third on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was a timely response against the Foxies, the same team that knocked them out of title contention in the semifinals with a four-set loss.
Now, two paths lead to the podium as PLDT can either win Game 2 outright or finish with a superior points ratio should the series be leveled and the finals wrap up in two games.
A series win would give the High Speed Hitters their first PVL podium finish outside of a championship and their third overall following their twin titles in 2025.
Savi Davison scored four of PLDT’s last five in the tiebreak, including the game-winning attack that brought them on the cusp of the podium. She finished with 33 points.
Four other High Speed Hitters reached double figures, with Kianna Dy backstopping Davison with 16 points and three blocks, Mika Reyes' 13-piece, Alleiah Malaluan's 11-point, 27-dig, 21-reception triple double and Majoy Baron's 10 points with four blocks.
Kim Fajardo posted a whopping 36 excellent sets and two points, while Kath Arado, who hurt her knee late in Set 4 but still fought to the finish, had 27 digs and 24 receptions.
"Sobrang hirap talaga. Sobrang hirap na from the previous games, pero happy lang na nailaban talaga namin hanggang sa dulo," said PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort.
Seesaw clash for bronze
The first two sets followed the same script, early leads, late collapses. PLDT’s 6-1 start in the opener was wiped out by back-to-back Trisha Tubu hits, while Farm Fresh’s hot run in Set 2 was stopped cold by a KKD-led finish.
In the third, Tubu put the Foxies on the cusp of retaking the match lead with two set points, both denied by Savi Davison, before Mika Reyes delivered back-to-back hits to swing the lead back to PLDT.
The fourth set also went the distance but had a different victor as Ces Molina capitalized on Farm Fresh's second set point off a Malaluan attack error to force a tiebreak.
Dy's three points in the fifth set, two of which in that 6-1 match-winning run, backed Davison's scoring masterclass for the series lead.
Tubu's 30-point outburst went for naught, along with Molina's 15-piece, Alohi Robins-Hardy's 22 excellent sets and a steady nine-point, nine-reception game from Tubino.
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