VOLLEY Bolt built for the crown?
Mega Builders didn’t expect much when it joined the men’s division of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference. But into the Final Four and nearing a sweep of the eliminations, the Volley Bolt now just couldn’t help but hope for the best.
Backstopped by the National University aces, the Volley Bolt have defied the odds and racked up six straight wins, including a shock victory over the heavily favored and reigning Reinforced Conference champion Cignal HD Spikers, 26-24, 26-24, 25-17, on July 19.
The solid start netted the newcomers an outright spot in the Final Four and could complete a sweep of the elims of the midseason conference of the league organized by Sports Vision with another victory over defending champion Air Force tomorrow.
Cignal is currently at second with a 5-1 win-loss record, while Air Force totes a 4-2 card for third.
Unlike the star-studded Cignal and Air Force sides, Mega Builders relies on cohesion.
“The key for us is that we play as a team and family,” Mega Builders Coach Dante Alinsunurin said.
Fauzi Ismael, Francis Philip Saura, Kim Malabunga, Bryan Bagunas, Ricky Marcos and Kim Harold Dayandante have been dishing out one big game after the other to steer the Volley Bolt to the top of the heap.
Alinsunurin said initially, they just wanted to compete and gain experience as part of their buildup for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) wars, scheduled early next year.
“We just want to just compete and get the experience here to prepare us for the UAAP competition,” Alinsunurin said. “We didn’t really expect to beat almost everyone because we know we’re facing strong teams with experience and talented players.”
Now they are the ones being chased.
Alinsunurin said they might as well dream bigger.
“Nothing to celebrate yet but if we get the chance to win the title, we might as well go for it,” he said.
The race for the last two semifinals spots in the women’s division, meanwhile, went down to three teams—Hair Fairy Air Force, BaliPure and Perlas-BanKo.
Defending champion Pocari Sweat is safe in the semifinals along after beating Hair Fairy Air Force, 25-19, 25-20, 29-27, late Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City. Also secured of a semifinals seat is unscathed leader Creamline
The Lady Jet Spikers dropped to 4-2 for solo third. They have to win beat ousted Akari-Adamson on Saturday to stay in contention for the next round.
Perlas-BanKo and BaliPure are tied for fourth place with 3-3 win-loss cards, numbers that put them in a tight fix as the eliminations head toward its end.
Water Defenders Head Coach Roger Gorayeb agreed their backs are against the wall.
“We’re in a bad situation,” Gorayeb said. “We have to play well if we want to make it to the top four. We lack training, my players are burned out because they are all student-athletes,” Gorayeb said.
Perlas-BanKo and BaliPure have tough assignments on Sunday when they face Creamline and Pocari Sweat, respectively.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza