PVL Invitational Countdown: Who Books the Ticket to Tuesday's Final?

0Shares

The race for Tuesday’s PVL Invitational final comes down to one loaded Sunday, September 6, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Four teams are chasing two finals tickets, and nothing is locked up yet.

EST Cola and Creamline hold the inside track, while PLDT and Nxled still have a real shot to crash the party. By the time the last whistle blows, the finals picture should finally be clear.

Creamline faces a crucial matchup with PLDT as the Cool Smashers chase another finals appearance in the PVL Invitational. [PVL Images]

EST Cola, Creamline Eye Finals Rematch

EST Cola and Creamline both sit at 3-1, and one more win locks up a finals berth for either side. EST Cola faces already-eliminated Ho Chi Minh at 4 p.m., a game the Thai squad will be expected to control.

Papatchaya Phontham, Nannaphat Moonjakham and Nirarach Srikuta have fueled EST Cola’s surge. Still, the Thai squad isn’t taking Ho Chi Minh lightly, despite the Vietnamese team’s winless record so far.

Creamline’s road runs through rival PLDT at 6:30 p.m. in the day’s marquee matchup. That game follows Creamline’s first loss of the tournament, a four-set defeat to EST Cola that snapped their winning streak.

Jaja Minowa says the fix starts on defense. She flagged the Cool Smashers’ shaky out-of-system blocking as the reason EST Cola got past them, and called for a faster response against PLDT.

PLDT heads into Sunday's schedule needing a victory to keep its PVL Invitational title defense alive. [PVL Images] — PLDT heads into Sunday’s schedule needing a victory to keep its PVL Invitational title defense alive. [PVL Images]

PLDT, Nxled Chase From Behind

PLDT enters at 2-2 and needs a win over Creamline just to force a tie for the last finals spot. Anything less ends the defending champions’ title defense before Tuesday even arrives.

Savi Davison is riding a triple-double performance into the biggest game of the tournament. “Whoever comes in wanting it more will win,” she said, calling the matchup a toss-up between two evenly matched sides.

Nxled faces the same must-win pressure, opening at 1:30 p.m. against Farm Fresh. Coach Ettore Guidetti is leaning on Myla Pablo, MJ Phillips, EJ Cariño, Jackie Acuña and Jonah Escamillan to get the job done.

Farm Fresh is already eliminated but still dangerous, led by Ces Molina, Royse Tubino, Ara Galang and MVP Trisha Tubu. Their only remaining goal on Sunday is to play spoiler against Nxled.