PLDT completed a five-game sweep of the PVL on Tour preliminary round by besting Galeries Tower, 25-20, 25-14, 25-17, on Sunday in Cebu City.
READ: PLDT in no rush to bring Savi Davison back into rotation
Kianna Dy dealt the final blow in a match-clinching four-point run to cap her 12-point game, with Savi Davison scoring two quick hits in her late cameo for their fifth straight preseason win.
The High Speed Hitters secured the top seed entering the quarterfinals as the only undefeated team with just one set dropped in five games.
They will also enter the playoff stage of a PVL tournament as the No. 1 team for the first time in its four-year run in the league.
Without a win in five games, Galeries Tower heads to the knockout round where it will face the No. 3 seed in Pool B for a place in the quarterfinals.
PLDT's high-speed catchup
Unlike their Cebu leg opener against Nxled, PLDT had to play catchup to a re-energized Highrisers side before breaking loose from an 18-all deadlock.
KKD & Co. scored seven of the last nine points to steal Set 1 before wreaking havoc in the second frame, where it went on a 10-2 blitz for a two sets to none lead.
"[Nawala] 'yung pasensya nu’ng una kasi wala naman kaming time mag-prepare sa kanila. Iba yung tempo nila, masyadong mabilis talaga. Mahirap siyang gawin nang hindi na-practice," said PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort.
"Binanggit namin sa kanila kanina na pagsabayin yung adjustment tsaka yung patience na kinakailangan. Kahit medyo slow start nung first and third [sets], ‘pag kailangan nang trumabaho, alam na nila yung kailangang gawin."
Not even back-to-back 11-point outputs from rookie Jean Asis and France Ronquillo could keep the Highrisers within reach of their unbeaten foes.
Yielding nearly a set's worth of faults with 23 unforced errors didn't help Galeries Tower's cause to end its five-game preseason slump.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
