The PLDT High Speed Hitters and Kobe Shinwa University lock horns in a winner-take-all PVL Invitational Finals showdown.
The stage is set.
The PLDT High Speed Hitters and Japan’s Kobe Shinwa University will square off for the 2025 PVL Invitational crown in a one-game knockout on Sunday, Aug. 31 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Finals matchup was forged after Kobe Shinwa authored a dramatic reverse sweep of Chery Tiggo on Friday, clawing back from two sets down to prevail, 21-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22, 15-6.
The victory boosted the Japanese squad to a 4-1 record and locked them into second place behind unbeaten PLDT.
It also marked history, as Kobe Shinwa became just the third foreign team to reach the PVL Finals after Taiwan's KingWhale Taipei and Japan V.League's Kurashiki Ablaze.
The collegiate squad will once again bank on team captain and setter Sakura Furuta, as well as spikers Nagisa Komatsuda, Kokoro Yasuma, Arisu Ishikawa, and Reira Miyazaki in the title game.
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For PLDT, the road has been nothing short of dominant.
Just 11 days removed from their breakthrough championship in the PVL on Tour, the High Speed Hitters completed another sweep in the Invitational preliminaries, capped by a four-set win over the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17, 25-14.
PVL on Tour Finals MVP Mika Reyes and open hitter Savi Davison have spearheaded the charge, with Kianna Dy, Majoy Baron, and Kim Fajardo providing steady firepower.
A win on Sunday will make PLDT the first PVL team to complete back-to-back tournament sweeps.
The looming Final will also be a rematch of their preliminary duel, where PLDT out-blocked Kobe Shinwa, 11-1, en route to a straight-sets win, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23.
[ALSO READ: Health a key factor to PLDT’s winning run in PVL on Tour, PVL Invitational]
But with the Japanese squad proving their mettle under pressure against the Crossovers, the High Speed Hitters know they cannot take anything for granted.
The championship showdown will be a clash between a local powerhouse chasing back-to-back titles and a foreign guest team hungry to carve its name into PVL history.