Ricafort relishes chance to battle–and learn from–Yee
It’s a tale of two coaches in the PVL Reinforced Conference semifinals, as Rald Ricafort faces his mentor Jerry Yee when PLDT and ZUS Coffee clash in a do-or-die game for a ticket to the final.
In a showdown of coaching brilliance on Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Ricafort, who is steering PLDT’s rise into an emerging dynasty, is looking to book a third consecutive final.
Standing on Ricafort’s way is Yee, whom he worked with at various stops, including the University of the Philippines women’s volleyball team, Petro Gazz Angels and the Adamson Lady Falcons.
“I’ve learned a lot from Coach Jerry,” Ricafort told the Inquirer in Filipino. “I always look forward to playing against him because there’s always something new to learn. Even during scouting, we already pick up so many things. But since our systems are quite similar, we really need to find an edge because they’re a very strong team.”
Ricafort’s credentials are sparkling as well. He won his maiden title at Petro Gazz in the 2022 Reinforced Conference before he transferred to PLDT and swept the PVL on Tour and Invitational to deliver the franchise’s first two championships.
The High Speed Hitters have a shot at a third consecutive championship after advancing to the semifinals with a 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21 victory over the Cignal Super Spikers on Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Yee turned ZUS Coffee from PVL’s newest squad into the fiercest title contender, winning seven of their eight elimination games and making their first-ever semifinal appearance with a 25-14, 25-20, 25-18 sweep of Capital1.
“In our previous games against them, nothing ever came easy. So our mindset now is to expect every point to be tough,” said Ricafort.
The other semifinal games feature underdogs who upset the higher seeds in the quarterfinals, as the No.8 seed and last year’s runner-up Akari, takes on the sixth seed and All-Filipino champion Petro Gazz.
