PLDT stayed in the hunt for a semifinal spot after making quick work of Akari, 25-11, 25-21, 25-19, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the victory, the High Speed Hitters snapped a four-game slide to rise to a 2-4 slate, sixth in the standings. It also booted out seventh running Chargers (2-5).
Russian import Elena Samoilenko logged 20 points and eight excellent receptions to lead the way for PLDT, which started the first set with an 11-1 run to set up its control for the rest of the way.
"We really needed this win to redeem ourselves and raise our morale, we really planned for this game," said High Speed Hitters coach George Pascua.
"We were able to translate what we do in our practices to the game this time around," added Pascua, whose team finished the match in one hour and 20 minutes.
Rhea Dimaculangan dished out 14 excellent sets as Mika Reyes and Dell Palomata put up 15 and 11 points, respectively, for PLDT.
After setting the PVL record of 44 points in their previous match, Akari import Prisilla Rivera scored 23 points this time for Akari and drew little help from her teammates, with Lycha Ebon being the second leading scorer with just five points.
