Generika-Army opens 3-peat bid vs PLDT Home TVolution

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine Army now sports the colors of Generika Drugstore, but that is not the only change fans of the 2014 PLDT Home DSL-Philippine Super Liga (PSL) Generika-Army will watch out for when it battles PLDT Home TVolution this Wednesday in the premiere club league's All-Filipino Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Also under the scope is whether the Lady Troopers have kept their grit and spunk which have given them two conference titles already (PSL Invitationals and PSL Grand Prix) when they debut at 2 pm in this tournament supported by PLDT Home DSL and backed by Mikasa, Asics, Mueller Tapes, Jinling Sports Equipment, LGR, Bench and Healthway Medical.

Also making its debut in the men's side of this competition organized by Sports Core with Solar Sports as official broadcast partner is PLDT Home TVolution, which will clash with Systema at 6 pm.

Featuring National Team standouts Ian Fernandez and Alnakran Abdilla with veterans Dante Alinsunurin and Robert Boto providing leadership, the Power Attackers are tipped to create an immediate impact against actor-sportsman Richard Gomez and his Active Smashers, who yielded a straight-set loss to Cignal in the opener.

But all eyes are expected to be glued on Generika-Army.

Despite losing Michelle Carolino in the off-season, the Lady Troopers remain a force to be reckoned with, especially with Mary Jean Balse, Jovelyn Gonzaga and the comely Rachel Anne Daquis back in the fold.

"Almost all of the teams have beefed up their rosters, so it's really hard to predict our chances," said Army coach Rico de Guzman. "I trust my team. We've been training hard for this competition for the past two months. I know the girls will do everything to defend our crown."

It wouldn't be a walk in the park for the Lady Troopers and they expect a good fight from the Power Attackers, who will parade the nucleus of the squad which finished third in the previous conference.

After dropping a sorry five-set loss to AirAsia, the Power Attackers bounced back as they booked a 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23 win over the Rising Suns-- proof of their determined bid to log a better finish.

In that game, PLDT Home TVolution had a flawless performance in the first two sets before suffering some minor bumps in the third set and in the early goings of the fourth set before escaping with a nail-biting victory.

"We are a very tired team," said Power Attackers coach Roger Gorayeb. "All of my players have full-time jobs, so it's really difficult for us to practice everyday. But in our next game, we will prepare hard because we know that Army is such a strong team. Hopefully, we can perform above their level."

Tasked to carry the charge for Gorayeb are Charo Soriano, Rysabelle Devanadera, Maruja Banaticla and Sue Roces, who fired a team-high 17 points in their previous win over Cagayan.