PLDT coach Rald Ricafort is taking lessons from the PVL’s best teams and using them to show his players what it will take to become champions.

“Since I am focused on scouting, I show my players how [the best teams and players] play and how [we] compare to the standards of the league,” Ricafort told the Inquirer in Filipino after PLDT cruised to a third consecutive win following a quick 25-17, 25-20, 25-17 dismissal of Capital1 on Tuesday at PhilSports Arena.

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“[I show my players] how the likes of Brooke [van Sickle of Petro Gazz], [Creamline’s] Alyssa [Valdez and [Bernadeth] Pons play, because [they are] the ones [whose level] we are trying to reach … so we [can] also have the skill set of the top teams,” Ricafort added.

PLDT’s first two wins caused worry for Ricafort, who noted how his team would relax after taking 2-0 set leads. In their opener against Nxled, the High Speed Hitters were forced to a fourth set before closing out the win. Against Galeries Tower, PLDT again wobbled in the third set but regrouped in time to fashion out a sweep.

If the win against the Solar Spikers was any indication, the High Speed Hitters may have finally learned their lesson.

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“[S]ince our first game I told them that [once] we are in control of our game, we should avoid [relaxing in the end] because the flow of the game also affects us,” he said. “If we show a bit of complacency, [opponents will take advantage] because everyone is getting better and [no one folds] easily unlike before.”

Challenging Savi

“That was the mindset going into this game: to stick to even the small details which, if we are able to execute, will make things easier],” he added.

“That’s what happened today.”

And to further double down on that lesson, Ricafort will continue splicing videos of Creamline, the winningest team in the history of PVL and first-ever Grand Slam winners, and Petro Gazz, which has shown promise since Van Sickle arrived, to show his players what it takes to win a title.

“So if we still don’t have [the skill set that the top teams have] based on their game videos, that’s what we continue to push [for],” Ricafort said, adding that by making examples of the top squads, he also gives his players a target.

“We don’t have to guess [where we are in] our progression [because we can compare ourselves to the teams] we are chasing.”

“If they achieve [our goal of closing the gap], then we have a complete skill set and we can play at a higher level,” he said.

The challenge falls heavily on Savi Davison, the PLDT star hitter returning from a knee procedure. The Filipino-Canadian is slowly getting back to her usual lethal form and punched in a game-high 17 points against Capital1.

‘Growing’

“I am just coming back and being involved in practice again so I don’t think there’s much change [in us]. Obviously we work hard, our preparation was really nice and we just know how to adjust to certain teams and I think we just show up every day working harder than the last,” Davison told the postgame press conference.

“I think as a team, we’re just growing in general as a group. It’s really fun to see how much we can do so I’m just excited to see—give us more time and we’ll see how it goes,” she added.

Erika Santos and Fiola Ceballos, two players Ricafort hopes will also respond to his challenge, finished with 11 points each, with Ceballos also active on defense with 16 excellent digs. INQ