Army , Airforce in Finals

(Photo produced and obtained by Kawal Pinoy from Internet Sources)

Written by Theodore P. Jurado

Published in Journal Online

IT’S going to be an all-military derby for the PLDT Home DSL-Philippine Super Liga All-Filipino Conference women’s championship.

    

Defending champion Generika-Army and RC Cola-Air Force forged a winner-take-all title showdown after beating their separate foes in the sudden-death semifinals yesterday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

    

The Lady Troopers banked on game-long brillance by setter Tina Salak and Jovelyn Gonzaga to turn back AirAsia, 25-19, 25-23, 25-16, while Maika Ortiz delivered the punishing blows to lift the Raiders to a thrilling 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 15-12 victory over PLDT Home TVolution.

    

Generika-Army and RC Cola-Air Force go for all the marbles in the gold medal match set at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Pasay venue.

    

With the Power Attackers breathing down their necks, Ortiz unleashed four of her team’s last six points to help the Raiders book their first-ever Finals stint.

    

Ortiz, who starred for University of Santo Tomas in their glorious UAAP championship run in 2009, nailed 14 of her team-high 17 points on kills while providing the muscle on the defensive end with three blocks, the last coming in the middle of RC Cola’s searing 7-1 run in crucial stretch of the fifth set.

    

Iari Yongco and Joy Cases backed Ortiz with 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Raiders who will march to the title match after finishing last in their inaugural conference.

    

“Maika stepped up down the stretch,” said RC Cola-Air Force coach Clarence Esteban.

    

True enough, with PLDT scoring three straight points off Lou Ann Latigay’s furious assaults for an 11-8 advantage, Esteban called on Ortiz to patrol the net, giving the Raiders’ seven points, including a running spike to seal the victory.

    

It was another painful exit for the Power Attackers after a bitter semifinal loss last conference where they swept the preliminaries.

    

“But aside from Maika’s strong performance, it was momentum and defense that won us the game. We foiled all of their attacks and converted those into points. PLDT is a veteran team. They know how to win big games. Good thing breaks bounce our way,” said Esteban.

    

The Raiders hope to avenge their 21-25, 29-27, 20-25, 21-25 loss to the Lady Troopers in the elimination round.

    

Sue Roces dominated the first four sets with a near-perfect execution of combination plays for the Power Attackers.

    

But in the crucial stretch, when Roces rotated to the backline, RC Cola-Air Force took advanatge of her absence as Ortiz and Cases sowed damage in the frontline, paving the way for the Raiders’ hard-earned victory.

http://journal.com.ph/sports/volleyball/army-air-force-in-finals