PLDT Home Ultera upbeat on V-L chances

Games Saturday

12:45 p.m. – Army vs Navy

3 p.m. – Home Ultera vs UP

MANILA, Philippines - PLDT Home Ultera hopes to cash in on its edge in manpower and experience when it shoots for one of the final berths in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Reinforced Conference against University of the Philippines at The Arena in San Juan on Saturday.

A pre-tournament favorite, Home Ultera’s campaign suffered a snag with the sidelining of ace spiker Alyssa Valdez due to back injury. But the Ultra Fast Hitters are back in the lead role after tapping a pair of talented American imports late in the elims of the season-ending conference of the league where it all started.

And Victoria Hurtt and Sareea Freeman proved their worth with a pair of explosive games with the former unloading 21 hits and the latter adding 15 points as Home Ultera eased out Kia Forte, 25-12, 25-12, 23-25, 25-21, to clinch the No. 2 seeding and seal a Final Four duel with UP, which wound up No. 3.

“We have the advantage against UP because of our experience,” said Home Ultera coach Roger Gorayeb. “We also have two foreign players who I think will give us more options.”

Home Ultera beat UP, 25-12, 22-25, 25-15, 25-17, in their first round meeting.

But Gorayeb stressed the need for team cohesion, saying they would need more practice time with Freeman and Hurtt hoping to reach peak form in time for the championship.

“If you’re going to ask me, we haven’t really practiced that much. Hopefully, we could use this week to really get to familiarize with each other,” said Gorayeb.