Pinoys Power Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship Power Pinoys open Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship with win over Mongolia

Power Pinoys open Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship with win over Mongolia Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship photo

The Philippines’ PLDT Home TVolution squad brandished its brilliance as it posted a straight-sets victory over Mongolia, 25-13, 25-23, 25-16, to kick off its campaign in the Asian Men’s Volleyball Club Championship presented by PLDT Home Fibr on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Save for some minor bumps in the second set, the Power Pinoys were hardly threatened in coasting to their first win in this tournament organized by Sports Core in partnership with the Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF).

Australian import Cedric Legrand starred for the home squad, finishing with 17 of his 18 points on kills, leaving the Mongolians groping for form.

Alnakran Abdilla, a standout from La Salle in Dasmarinas, provided support as he nailed 11 of his 12 points on hits in their debut in this tourney backed by Mikasa, Healthway Medical, Maynilad, Gerflor Spurway, Senoh Equipment, STI, PSC, Makati mayor Junjun Binay, Pasay City mayor Antonino Calixto and MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino.

“Cedric is very impressive. He keeps his promise of playing hard and helping Philippine volleyball by winning this tournament,” said Philippines’ coach Francis Vicente, referring to his prized recruit who was part of the Australian indoor team in 2008 and was hailed as the Most Valuable Player in the Victorian Premier League.

With Legrand running the show, the home team dominated the bigger, heftier Mongolians in the first set before racing to a 22-14 lead in the second set.

Then, the Mongolians caught fire.

Taking advantage of the Filipinos’ weak backline defense, Mongolia made the game interesting as it inched closer to within three, 21-24, before the Power Pinoys closed out the set with a powerful smash from Kheeno Franco and a service error from their foes.

It was all Philippines from there as the PLDT Home TVolution side used its blinding speed to its advantage in the third set.

“Speed was the main factor that carried us in this game,” Vicente added. “We’re not that tall, but we have the speed that’s why it was hard for our opponents to beat us. We used our speed to our advantage and it rewarded us with this victory.”

The Power Pinoys will take a breather today, but will be back to face Iraq tomorrow for a win that would formalize their entry to the quarterfinals.

All games by the Philippine Team, also known as the Power Pinoys or the PLDT Home TVolution team, will be televised live on TV5, the official broadcast partner of the AMCC. The tournament also has Magic 89.9, Wave 89.1, Jam 88.3, Play 99.5 and KLite 103.5 as radio partners.

Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/power-pinoys-open-asian-mens-volleyball-club-championship-with-win-over-mongolia