Biñan stuns Bacoor, makes MPVA finals

Biñan Tatak Gel 1-Pacman Partylist completed an improbable upset of Bacoor with another sweep, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21, in the do-or-die Game 2 of the 2024 Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA) semifinals on Wednesday night at the Alonte Sports Arena in Laguna.

The third-ranked Volley Angels came out with guns ablaze to duplicate their straight-set win in Game 1 over the No. 2 Strikers and set up a best-of-three finale date against topseed Quezon.

Game 1 is on Monday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan followed by Games 2 and 3 in Quezon Province at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena and South Quezon Convention Center in Gumaca, respectively.

Swept by Bacoor in two elimination-round meetings, Biñan flipped the script in dominant fashion without yielding a single set behind Erika Jin Deloria with 16 points on 15 hits and an ace.

It was also Deloria, with similar 16 points, who headlined Biñan’s 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 win in Game 1 of this tourney founded by former Senator Manny Pacquiao.

Shane Carmona and May Ann Nuique contributed 11 points each for the Volley Angels, who avenged their 19-25, 23-25, 20-25 and 25-20, 22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 3-15 defeat in the prelims.

While it was a sweep in 86 minutes, the Volley Angels however needed to grind it out with slow starts in each of the set compared to a dominant performance in their Game 1 victory on the road in Bacoor.

The biggest turnaround was in the second set, where Deloria anchored Biñan’s comeback from a 13-16 deficit highlighted by the set-clinching attack to take a 2-0 lead.

It was another nip-and-tuck battle midway through the third frame but Biñan with momentum on its side was just not to be stopped from there on by unleashing a strong finishing kick once again, this time, with Carmona and Nuique joining hands in the crucial stretch.

Irene Zenneth Perolino and Jen Kylene Villegas delivered seven and five points, respectively, for the Volley Angels, who surpassed with flying colors their seventh-place finish in the inaugural season of this league backed Extreme One-Stop Shop Appliances, ASICS, Mikasa and Gerflor with MPTV and Outcomm as broadcast partners.