To secure the last semis berth in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference, Savi Davison stresses that every member of the PLDT High Speed Hitters must step up in the upcoming match against defending champion Creamline Cool Smashers.
Savi Davison and the PLDT High Speed Hitters sustained a critical blow to their Final Four chances in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night.
Desperate for a win to forge a five-way logjam with 8-2 records in the highly-intense semis race, the High Speed Hitters were thwarted by the also-ran HD Spikers, losing in four sets, 26-24, 24-26, 17-25, 26-28, at the Sta.Rosa Sports Complex.
The heart-wrenching loss pushed PLDT outside of the playoff frame with a 7-3 record at fifth place.
With only 20 points and a game left on their preliminary round schedule, Davison and the rest of the team can no longer go higher than fourth place, as the top three teams in Petro Gazz (25 points), Choco Mucho (24 points), and Creamline (24 points) punched their tickets to the semifinals.
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On the verge of elimination, Davison, who poured a near triple-double effort of 29 points, 18 receptions, and eight digs in the crucial defeat, issued a rallying call to her teammates, urging them to step up their game.
“I think we’re just kind of looking for some people to step up. There’s some gaps in our game, we have a couple of new additions, but you know, at the end of the day, everybody needs to be on point,” the Filipina-Canadian stalwart said.
She then continued, “Everyone needs to be giving a hundred percent, and I think we’re still looking for that – that extra inch, whether it’s somebody to step up with leadership with Kat [Arado] and I, and Kim [Fajardo] or Majoy [Baron]. Like I think, we just need one more person on our side.”
Though PLDT's future seems promising with Kianna Dy, Mika Reyes, and Jovie Prado making steady progress toward full recovery, Davison admitted that the shortage of firepower has been quite a challenge for the High Speed Hitters as of late.
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“Saying that, we have a lot of people out right now. We have Kianna out, we have Mika out, we have Jovie out. They’re all coming back and it looks good on the horizon, but for right now, it’s kind of difficult,” Davison said.
This was most evident last April 16, when the High Speed Hitters fell in straight sets to the streaking Chery Tiggo Crossovers. There, Davison shouldered the lion’s share of the offensive load with 22 points, while no other PLDT player scored over six points.
With the deflating losses already in the rearview mirror, Davison and the rest of the High Speed Hitters have resolved to move forward and focus on the critical game ahead, which will be against the Cool Smashers on April 25, Thursday.
Should PLDT pull off a straight-set win over Creamline and current fourth-seeded Chery Tiggo (8-2 record with 23 points) lose via sweep to Galeries Tower, the High Speed Hitters will tie the Crossovers in record and points. Set ratio will then serve as tiebreaker, allowing PLDT to narrowly make it to the next round.
“I think so close at the end of the season, you just have to kind of look forward to the next one. We had two really tough losses. We went into really good energy. Unfortunately, it just went another way to the other team. So, we’re really looking forward to Creamline,” Davison said.
“We just gotta come back. We have practice this week, work hard, heads high, good energy, and kind of put [the loss] behind us. So hopefully we have a good week of practice leading up to Creamline, and we take the game from them, hopefully.”