F2 Logistics fought back from a set down to beat listless Vietnamese club Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-20, and secure the last seat in the Premier Volleyball Invitational Conference battle for bronze yesterday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Myla Pablo and Majoy Baron showed the way as the Cargo Movers arrested a three-game losing skid to close their semifinals campaign with a 2-3 carryover win-loss record tied with their third place match rival Cignal.
The winner-take-all battle for third is scheduled on Sunday at 4 p.m. to be followed by the title showdown between Japan’s Kurashiki Ablaze and defending champion Creamline at 6:30 p.m.
Pablo smashed 18 kills in her 20-point performance while Baron delivered a personal conference-high 20 points she collected from 15 attacks, four kill blocks and an ace for F2 Logistics.
The Cargo Movers celebrated their morale-boosting win on the same day Filipino-American reserve setter Iris Tolenada got tapped by GS Caltex Seoul KIXX Volleyball Team in the Korean V-League.
“It’s been very hard for the team. We’ve been to losses after losses,” F2 Logistics coach Regine Diego said.
Skipper Abigail Marano had 18 points including five kill blocks while Ivy Lacsina scored 15 off the bench for the Cargo Movers, who hosted a block party with 13 kill blocks to frustrate their Vietnamese rivals.
“It was very hard since Kianna (Dy) has been injured. It was hard to keep their morale up. We’re very happy that again we’re back here. I hope we’ll be okay in the next game. I just want these girls to be healthy and they enjoy the game all the time,” Diego said.
Baron broke an 18-18 deadlock with a drop and a kill block to create a 20-18 separation. The middle blocker gave F2 Logistics a 22-19 lead before Lacsina hammered back-to-back crosscourt hits to push the Cargo Movers to match point.
Marano sealed the win with a thunderous hit off a missreception by Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh.
The Vietnamese club finished its stint winless in five games.
Nguyen Huong finished with 19 points, Le Xuan got 15 while Phan My chipped in with 11 in a losing cause for Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh.
