KingWhale Taipei comes alive late, denies PLDT to remain undefeated in PVL

KingWhale Taipei continued its surge in the 2022 PVL Invitational Conference semifinals after pulling away late to deny PLDT in a thriller, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13, on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Taipei remained unscathed with a 2-0 card while PLDT slid to an even 2-2 record.

The visitors had a commanding 2-1 set lead but PLDT stormed back in the fourth with Juls Samonte delivering the crucial hit as they took the set point, 24-17. Taipei then had a mini run, notching three straight points but a Mika Reyes quick hit sealed the win, 25-20, as they headed to a deciding fifth set.

PLDT looked like it could pull off an upset, racing to a 12-8 cushion after another Samonte kill. But Taipei roared back, tying the game at 12 before eventually regaining the lead, 14-12, after an attack from Li-Jun Chen.

Jovy Prado then went for a down-the-line hammer to save one match point but a service error from Reyes gave Taipei the hard-fought victory.

Lefty opposite hitter Beatriz Flavio de Carvalho led KingWhale after scattering 19 points off 15 attacks, three blocks, and one ace while Chen finished with 13 markers.

PLDT middle blockers Reyes and Dell Palomata starred for the High Speed Hitters with 17 and 19 points each as their hopes of making it to the finals got slimmer after the loss.

—JMB, GMA News