SHOWING the form that had them win all but one game in this tournament so far, the PLDT Ultra Fast Spikers sent the best-of-three finals to a deciding Game 3 after they blasted the defending champions Army Lady Troopers in four sets, 25-16, 25- 22, 19-25, 25-16 in Game 2 of the V-League Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
Ateneo ace Alyssa Valdez validated her selection as the V-League’s Most Valuable Player as she piled up 26 points to lead the suddenly-rejuvenated PLDT side over an Army squad that, at times, felt disinterested in the proceedings.
With one win already tucked in its belt, thanks to a 13-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22 victory in Game 1, Army just could not find its game and played catch-up for most of the way.
The rubber match will be played next Sunday, giving both coaches one week to re-plot their plays and strategies.
The winner-take-all is expected to draw a record crowd after 5,398 paying patrons watched yesterday’s contest at the 5,000-seat venue.
Jaja Santiago, whose mere 6-foot-4 frame can intimidate an attacker in any given play, continued to flash her spiking prowess, ramming in 13 kills, while coming away with five blocks as veteran Charo Soriano also stepped up to fire eight hits.
Apart from their offense, the Ultra Fast Spikers also took pride in their defense as they held down the Army’s awesome-twosome of Jovelyn Gonzaga and Dindin Santiago-Manabat to 12 and nine markers, respectively.
Mary Jean Balse, a former league MVP, led the way for Army with 17 markers while Rachel Ann Daquis continued to struggle and finished with four hits in this late, crucial stage of the conference.
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