PLDT High Speed Hitters’ rookie setter Angge Alcantara during a PVL All-Filipino Conference game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
There is a feeling of optimism all over the PLDT camp nowadays.
A winning start, an emerging standout and a returning star can do that for a team.
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In fact, there was only one thing coach Rald Ricafort rued after PLDT opened the PVL All-Filipino with a 25-15, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22 victory over Nxled was that the result took a little longer to achieve.
“It’s too bad we didn’t win in straight sets,” Ricafort said. “That just means we need a lot to work on.”
The High Speed Hitters certainly don’t sound like a team that ended last season on a painful and controversial note.
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The team has said it is moving on from that incident, adding it wouldn’t be healthy for the High Speed Hitters to base their efforts on overcoming that incident, when they were eliminated by Akari after a contested net fault went against them.
After all, PLDT has a lot more to look forward to.
There’s Angge Alcantara, for one. The young setter is taking on a huge responsibility, filling in for veteran playmakers Kim Fajardo, who is out due to an injury, and the newlywed Rhea Dimaculangan, who has taken a leave to focus on her family.
“I accepted the responsibility with an open heart,” Alcantara said. Or, as Ricafort jokingly put it, “she has no choice.”
There’s also the return of Savi Davison, the Filipino Canadian hitter who went into a long injury-induced hiatus but returned to score 19 points against the Chameleons.
No rush
“I’m just excited to contribute the way I’m used to. I’m super grateful with how this whole process turned out with me being able to play so early,” said Davison.
Ricafort, however, isn’t rushing. Not Davison’s return to peak form. Not Alcantara’s rise to chief playmaker.
“Savi has just started her comeback,” Ricafort said. “And Angge is just new to the job.”
PLDT will have another chance at integrating Alcantara and reintegrating Davison into its system when it battles the defensive-minded Galeries Tower, which has shown it is no longer a pushover by forcing Akari and Choco Mucho to dig deep for wins.
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The game will kick off on Tuesday at Ynares Center in Antipolo, immediately after the 4 p.m. showdown between ZUS Coffee and Nxled. INQ
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