Genrika-Army, RC Cola-Air Force clash in sudden-death finals

Games Friday:

(Cuneta Astrodome)

 1:30 pm – AirAsia vs PLDT (W)

 3:30 pm – PLDT-Air Force vs Cignal (M)

 5:30 pm – Generika-Army vs RC Cola-Air Force (W)

MANILA, Philippines – It will be experience versus potential as heavyweights Generika-Army and RC Cola-Air Force figure in a sudden-death titular showdown of the 2014 PLDT Home-Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino Conference volleyball tournament Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

War erupts at 5:30 pm with the older, more seasoned Lady Troopers heavily favored to win their third crown in the women's division of this prestigious inter-club tournament supported by PLDT Home DSL and backed by Mikasa, Asics, Mueller Tapes, Jinling Sports Equipment, LGR, Bench and Healthway Medical.

Also shooting for the diadem is PLDT-Air Force, which will battle Cignal in the kill-or-be killed finals of the men's division at 3:30 pm while AirAsia and PLDT Home TVolution dispute for the third place of the women's division at 1:30 pm.

Parading an intact roster that is overflowing with talent and experience, Generika-Army is tipped to coast to the title after closing out the preliminaries with four consecutive wins, enough to gain the top seed and an outright semifinal berth.

In the semis, the Lady Troopers used their experience to their advantage as they crushed the young AirAsia side, 25-19, 25-23, 25-16, thanks to the strong performance of veteran setter Tina Salak as well as Jovelyn Gonzaga, Rachel Ann Daquis and Mary Jean Balse.

But the finals will be an entirely different ballgame as they face a hungry RC Cola-Air Force, a squad which is very familiar to the Lady Troopers' brand of game.

"If there's a team which can match us, I think it's Air Force," said Generika-Army coach Rico de Guzman, downplaying the chances of his wards against the younger, more powerful attackers of the Raiders.

"Air Force knows us too well. We've been playing together during the AFP Olympics and I can say that they have already determined our weak spots. They know how to attack us. It's gonna be a good game. We have an interesting matchup."

De Guzman added that they have to come up with a good reception and stop the running attack of Ortiz, which is probably the league's most lethal offensive weapon.

"Ma-stop lang namin yun at siguradong maganda ang magiging resulta para sa amin."

On the other hand, RC Cola-Air Force emerged as the league's most impressive team for soaring all the way to the title match after finishing dead-last the previous conference.

And that stunning turnaround can be attributed not only to the inclusion of the young core of Ortiz, Iari Yongco, Joy Cases and Rhea Dimaclangan, but also to the hiring of head coach Clarence Esteban, who played with de Guzman for University of Santo Tomas 15 years ago.

"I know Rico, I know that defense will be his main focus in the championship," said Esteban, whose wards went through the wringer before escaping a thrilling 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 15-12 victory over PLDT Home TVolution in the semifinals of this competition organized by Sports Core with Solar Sports as official broadcast partner.

"I told the girls that we should match up their defensive intensity with more torrid attacks. Obviously, we are the underdogs in this match. They got the skills and the experience while we're just first-timers (in the finals). But still, we will play like there's no tomorrow."