It was a hard-fought crawl to the finish.
Dell Palomata is not a Best Middle Blocker awardee for nothing.
The Chery Tiggo Crossovers' own middle blocker Imee Hernandez got a taste of what it's like in the pros when she dueled Palomata right at the net during their Tuesday match in the PVL Invitational Conference. The six-foot-three MB of the PLDT High Speed Hitters got the single block... and the staredown.
"Si Imee kasi magaling din siyang player. Siguro nadala lang ako sa intensity ng game," Palomata told reporters after the match. "Kaya napa-push ako ng ganun."
"A game is a game. Trabaho lang sa'kin," she explained.
PLDT won the match in five sets, 25-21, 16-25, 25-23, 25-27, 15-12, and snagged the final spot in the semifinals.
It was a whole team effort dedicated to Jovy Prado, who was confirmed to have torn her left ACL in the match against the Creamline Cool Smashers. She will be out for the rest of the Conference.
"Lahat ng pinaghirapan sa training, lahat ng sakit sa katawan, process by process, 'di kami sumuko. Mas lalo kaming lumaban," Palomata said. She tallied 14 points, with two coming from blocks.
PLDT will barely have any time to rest as they will take on the Cignal HD Spikers in the first part of the round-robin semifinals on Thursday, July 20.
Cignal is fresh off decimating the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in straight sets.
(With reports from Jamie Velasco, One Sports Digital)