BY MARK REY MONTEJO
AT A GLANCE
Coming off a three-set loss to Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu in their final Pool A match, the Cool Smashers are ready to bounce back against Group D leader Thailand's Nakhon Rachasima Qmin C at 7 p.m.
Coming off a three-set loss to Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu in their final Pool A match, the Cool Smashers are ready to bounce back against Group D leader Thailand's Nakhon Rachasima Qmin C at 7 p.m.
Raising the curtain for the quarters action is a 4 p.m. showdown between the High Speed Hitters and Kazakh-based Zhetysu.
The victors of each match will earn semis berths.
Motivated to bounce back after its recent PVL finals defeat, Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses knew his wards will be able to prove themselves once again as they try to give the hometown fans some reasons to celebrate.
Russian reinforcements Anastasiya Kudryashova and Anastassiya Kolomoyets are expected to stand at Creamline’s frontline alongside mainstay Erica Staunton.
Bannering the Filipina hitters are Jema Galanza, Bernadette Pons, Jeannette Panaga and Alyssa Valdez, who will be reunited with her former Ateneo teammate – under the tutelage of Roger Gorayeb – and now Nakhon’s manager and assistant coach Jang Bualee.
Nakhon, meanwhile, has Anyse Smith, Evangelia Chantava, and Thai volleyball superstar Onuma Sittirak.
PLDT, which came from a five-set defeat to Nakhon, is expected to go all out with imports Savannah Davison and Wilma Salas, and Filipina star Kianna Dy leading the charge.
The Kazakh side banks on its seasoned players in Karyna Denysova, Valeriya Yakutina and Tatyana Nikitina.
Meanwhile in other quarters brackets, PVL All-Filipino Conference champions Petro Gazz Angels battle the top seed Beijing Baic Motor Friday, April 25, at the same venue.
Taipei’s Kaohsiung Taipower, on the other hand, tussles with Vietnam’s VTV Binh Dien Long An.
