The PLDT High Speed Hitters seal their first top-4 finish since the 2023 1st All-Filipino Conference after surviving Chery Tiggo to make the Reinforced Conference semifinals.
The PLDT High Speed Hitters will make their way to the semifinals of the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference after holding off the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in five sets, 25-23, 25-27, 15-25, 25-18, 15-9, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Tuesday, August 27.
In the winner-take-all fifth set, PLDT’s middle blockers were activated as Mika Reyes and Majoy Baron combined to score the team’s five of the first seven points in the deciding frame.
Down 5-8 in the final set, Chery Tiggo found its spark behind its locals in Ara Galang and Shaya Adorador to cut the lead to a single point.
But just as the Crossovers looked like the momentum was shifting to their side, Elena Samoilenko, who was brilliant all game long, scored three-straight hits to push the High Speed Hitters’ lead back to four points at 13-9.
Baron followed that up with a huge kill block on Khat Bell, before Samoilenko delivered her own denial on Chery Tiggo’s import to seal the semis-clinching victory.
Samoilenko finished with 37 points on 32 attacks, three blocks, and two service aces, countering Bell's game-high 40 markers.
Fiola Ceballos added 12 points, while Baron and Reyes had nine and seven points, respectively.
Kim Fajardo, who was hailed the Player of the Game, orchestrated the High Speed Hitters' huge quarterfinals victory with 23 excellent sets, marking their first semifinals appearance in a traditional four-team format since the 1st All-Filipino Conference in 2023.
PLDT will go up against the undefeated Akari Chargers in the semifinals on Thursday, August 29.