MANILA, Philippines – Target ng PLDT Home Ultera na masungkit ang kampeonato sa pakikipagtuos sa Army sa Game 2 ng kanilang Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Reinforced Conference best-of-three finals series sa The Arena sa San Juan City.
Kukuha ng lakas ang Ultrafast Hitters kay two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Alyssa Valdez na pumalo ng 25 puntos sa kanilang 16-25, 20-25, 26-24, 29-27, 18-16 panalo laban sa Lady Troopers sa Game 1 upang makuha ang 1-0 kalamangan sa serye.
Sasambulat ang Game 2 sa alas-3 ng hapon.
“She’s (Valdez) very eager to play after missing so many games. She’s doing it for the fans,” wika ni PLDT coach Roger Gorayeb.
Makakatuwang ni Valdez si reigning NCAA MVP Grethcel Soltones gayundin sina Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Charo Soriano at beteranong setter Ruby De Leon.
Umaasa si Gorayeb na makapagbibigay din ng magandang laro ang dalawang imports na sina Sareea Freeman at Victoria Hurtt na nagrehistro lamang ng pinagsamang 13 puntos.
“We used this whole week to fix the problem. I will stick with the same starting six and if it didn’t work out well, I could go back to my local players again,” dagdab ni Gorayeb.
Inaasahang ilalabas ng Army ang itinatagong kanyon nito upang maipuwersa ang do-or-die.
Mangunguna sa atake ng Lady Troopers sina Season MVP Jovelyn Gonzaga, Mary Jean Balse, Nerissa Bautista, Aby Maraño, Royce Tubino at Tina Salak.
“Breaks of the game. We had so many chances but we just couldn’t cash in on our opportunities,” ani Army coach Kungfu Reyes.