ITS streak stopped by a fired-up Army side, PLDT Home Ultera tries to reconnect and save its campaign in the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference that once looked so daunting.
“We’ll fight back,” vowed PLDT Coach Roger Gorayeb after the Ultra Fast Hitters absorbed a numbing 13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22 defeat to the Lady Troopers in the opener of their best-of-three title series on Thursday.
He rued his wards’ overeagerness to finish off the Lady Troopers after posting an emphatic first-set romp then cited the fatigue factor that helped lead to their first-ever setback after sweeping the eliminations and the semifinals in varying fashions.
“Halong gigil at pagod na din pero babawi kami,” Gorayeb said.
Game Two is set at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, which will be aired live on GMA News TV Channel 11.
Like Army, Cagayan Valley also tries to wrap up their own best-of-three series for third with Meralco, which the Lady Rising Suns swept, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23, also on Thursday.
The two-day break is expected to reenergize PLDT main hitter Alyssa Valdez, who had been shuttling to and from practices with PLDT, Ateneo and the national team gearing up for next month’s SEA Games in Singapore.
Expect Gorayeb to likewise rely on his key players in their desperate bid to force a rubber match for the season-opening conference of the league, sponsored by Shakey’s. But he also stressed the need for his wards to toughen up on defense and minimize their errors after ending up with 35 miscues as against Army’s 27.
“Kailangan talaga naming dumipensa at bawasan ang errors,” Gorayeb said.
But expect Army to go all-out too and avoid the specter of going through a sudden-death, where momentum could shift to the other side.
Coach Rico de Guzman is also putting his emphasis on defense even as he hopes his wards will continue to cash in on their experience the way they did in the series’ opener.
“Our championship experience helped us win the opener. And if we’ll sustain our fine defensive job in Game One, this (title) could be ours,” he said.
But the Ultra Fast Hitters won’t go down without fighting, hinting at a fierce fightback from a star-studded team not only out for a payback but also going all-out for a first-ever championship in the league presented by PLDT Home Ultera and backed by MIkasa and Accel.