High Speed Hitters primed for title defense
PLDT will finally be able to defend one of two titles it won last year when the High Speed Hitters come into the week-long PVL Invitational Conference as one of two favorites starting Monday.
After the On Tour was deemed just an exhibition and reduced to a mere meet-and-greet, which denied the High Speed Hitters the chance for a successful title defense, they get that chance this time when they lead three other local squads and teams from Thailand and Vietnam.
Savi Davison will spearhead the PLDT attack once again, although the squad will miss defensive ace Dell Palomata, who is with the Alas Pilipinas squad preparing for the Asian Games.
“We treated the On Tour just like a regular (PVL conference)—we worked hard for it,” coach Rald Ricafort said in Filipino after his High Speed Hitters wound up with a 2-0 record with one game canceled due to bad weather.
“Our mindset has always been to work hard because the Invitational is just around the corner,” he went on. “It’s just a shame that our preparation schedule was one game short. But I think our overall prep was okay.”
Reigning All-Filipino champion and 11-time titlist Creamline, red-hot Farm Fresh and upset-conscious Nxled are the other local teams that will lock horns with EST Cola from Thailand and a club team from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The Cool Smashers will be without ace setter Jia de Guzman, who is also fulfilling national team duties. But the squad remains loaded to the core with Jema Galanza, Tots Carlos and Alyssa Valdez again backstopping a formidable offensive armada that will now be orchestrated by the dependable Kyle Negrito.
But the biggest addition to the Creamline roster is Sachi Minowa (nee Jaja Santiago), who returns to the league for the first time in five years.
The 6-foot-5 Minowa made her first official league appearance last week against Choco Mucho to shake off the rust and get acclimatized to the rabid following the league now enjoys.
“It’s overwhelming to play here again,” Minowa had said after a 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 victory over Galeries Tower in Victorias, Negros Occidental, last week.
Opening day will be a triple-header, beginning with PLDT’s clash with EST Cola at 1:30 p.m., Nxlead and Creamline squaring off at 4 p.m., before Ho Chi Minh takes on Farm Fresh in the 6:30 p.m. main event.
All games will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
