BanKo’s Tiamzon: ‘Tibay ng loob’ key to Perlas comeback win over Army

SAN JUAN, Philippines — It was “Tibay ng loob” that boosted the BanKo Perlas Spikers to achieve a come-from-behind win in Game 1 of the Battle-for-third against PacificTown Army, Wednesday in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

Frustration loomed over BanKo throughout the five-setter match which saw them playing catch up with the Lady Troopers for most of the contest.

“Kailangan naming labanan yung frustration kasi ‘pag di namin nilabanan, kami rin naman yung maghahatakan pababa eh,” Tiamzon said.

The team lost a close first set, 25-27, followed by a dismal performance in the second set where they only managed 10 points against the Lady Troopers.

Despite having their backs against the wall, BanKo went on to secure the following three sets, all incurring deuces with 27-25, 26-24 and 16-14 wins in the third, fourth and fifth set, respectively.

“Talagang patibayan ng loob,” the Perlas skipper said.

Most, if not all, of their set wins were won in comeback fashion, with Tiamzon and the Perlas Spikers going on scoring runs to frustrate Army.

But Tiamzon said that BanKo will have to engage in much-needed training to prepare for Game 2 against the experienced PacificTown team.

“Veteran team sila eh, so we really expect na talagang pukpukan kami for the third place,” she said.

The Perlas Spikers are set to face the Lady Troopers for Game 2 of the best of three battle-for-third series of the PVL at the FilOil Flying V Arena on Saturday. — Philstar.com intern Gab Alicaya