PLDT wants to take advantage of its “favorable” schedule before facing three powerhouse teams to wrap up the elimination round of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
Without getting too complacent, High Speed Hitters head coach Rald Ricafort plans to give his bench mob more time on the floor against bottom-dweller SGA to keep his starters fresh for the bigger games in their final push to secure a semifinals seat.
“I would like to see the involvement of our other members of the team. We need to have them activated in the SGA game because we put a premium on giving rest to our (starting) players,” Ricafort said.
“Not to be too complacent, we want everybody to be active and contribute to the team.”
PLDT sports a 6-1 win-loss record to stay atop the standings tied with Choco Mucho and defending champion Creamline.
A win by the High Speed Hitters over winless SGA on 9 April will not only give them a good chance of a return stint to the round-robin semifinals after three conferences but will also give them confidence in their elims closing killer stretch.
PLDT is in for a tough grind taking on Chery Tiggo on 16 April, Cignal on 20 April before challenging Creamline on 25 April in the penultimate elims playdate.
The High Speed Hitters started their preparation for their final push for a return ticket to the Final Four since last year’s first All-Filipino Conference during the Holy Week break.
“That’s the sacrifice we ask (the players), to shorten our break,” Ricafort said.
And it paid dividends when PLDT cruised past a capable Akari side, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, last Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Majoy Baron and Savi Davison showed the way in the quick one-hour, 35-minute match, bringing in 13 and 11 points, respectively.
“Instead of a long rest because we know Akari is a capable team, so we shortened it. We resumed practice on (Black) Saturday. Sorry, Lord. We wanted to maximize the three days before going to this game,” he said.
Beaming with confidence riding a four-game winning streak, PLDT hopes to carry the momentum into its last remaining games.
“I guess our schedule is a blessing. It’s just funny that before we used to complain about our schedule,” Ricafort said.
“Right now, we have a good schedule where we can build up. We can get the wins that we need heading into the last three games against the heavyweights. Thankful that we can build momentum ahead of those games.”
