Sta. Elena survived Army’s last-gasp effort and posted a 25-17, 25-22, 29-27 victory yesterday to clinch the fourth and last semis berth in the men’s division of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Wrecking Balls turned to Berlin Paglinawan who responded with 20 points built on 18 kills and two aces.
With the win, Sta. Elena arranged a best-of-three semis series with top seed Cignal starting on Saturday.
The other semis pairing pit Megabuilders against Air Force.
Isaah Arda, Paolo Pablico, and Israel Encina also shone for the Wrecking Balls with 10 points apiece, even as Nico Ramirez silently contributed 36 excellent sets.
Army tried to make as many combination plays from its players but Sta. Elena refused to crumble with Paglinawan and Arda’s solid net defense.
The Wrecking Balls leaned mostly on their attacks, finishing with 50 hits compared to the Troopers’ 37. They also made more service aces, 5-3.
