PLDT, Akari reach PVL quarters after tough wins

Akari and PLDT secured their spots in the quarterfinals of the PVL All-Filipino Conference after hard-fought victories over Farm Fresh and ZUS Coffee at the PhilSports Arena.

PLDT narrowly edged out ZUS Coffee with a 20-25, 25-20, 25-20, 26-24 victory, overcoming an initial set deficit to advance to a quarterfinals match against Choco Mucho Flying Titans.

Akari overcame a 2-1 set deficit to defeat Farm Fresh in five sets with scores of 25-11, 23-25, 18-25, 25-21, and 15-9, setting up a quarterfinals match against the Galeries Tower Highrisers.

Ivy Lacsina led PLDT with 22 points, while Grethcel Soltones contributed 11 points in their win over Farm Fresh.

Trisha Tubu scored 23 points for Farm Fresh and Alyssa Bertolano added 13 markers in the loss to Akari.

The round-robin play-in tournament begins on Thursday, March 6, featuring ZUS Coffee against Cignal at 4 pm followed by Chery Tiggo facing Nxled at 6:30 pm.