STREAKING teams Pocari Sweat and Bali Pure will clash in the much-awaited semis rematch when they tangle in the Shakey's V-League Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena on Saturday.
For Bali Pure veteran Charo Soriano, facing their semis Open Conference tormentor Pocari Sweat will be an intense showdown especially against a fellow squad that has not lost a set after getting beaten in each team’s respective season opener.
"What a coincidence! Pocari is a very solid team, they got a powerful outside hitter with Bre (Mackie) and of course formidable blocker which is Andrea (Kacsits)," said Soriano.
"They've been playing together for quite a while. I think the imports were here several weeks or even a month prior to the league, so they have more time to get to know each other and to really mesh well and we're very excited to play against Pocari. It's always a good match between Pocari and Bali Pure, we hope to bring the same competitiveness on Saturday," she added.
Although Pocari Sweat (4-1) and Bali Pure (4-1) have already secured a semis spot along with University of Santo Tomas (5-1) and Bureau of Customs (4-2), Soriano is bracing for a hostile atmosphere once they face off with their budding rivals.
"Making rivalries is always good with anything because it just means we're pushing each other to be better and of course, we're excited to see the match-up on Saturday as well. We've seen our games improved a lot also," said the former Ateneo star.
"They are very powerful in terms of their attack so we gotta make sure lang na we keep [our] consistency. Hopefully, the fans will also enjoy on Saturday," she added.
Aside from American imports Mackie and Kacsits, the Open Conference champion will lean on locals Michele Gumabao, Myla Pablo and defense specialist Mel Gohing.
Soriano, on the other hand, finds ample firepower with American reinforcements Kate Morrell, who scored 21 points in their straight set win over Laoag, and Kaylee Manns, who dished out all of the team's 46 excellents sets.