PVL: PLDT stays focused amid noise as title defense hits rough patch

Savi Davison and the PLDT High Speed Hitters during a game vs Farm Fresh Foxies in the 2026 PVL Invitational Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines— Defending champion PLDT got the brunt of criticism on social media after absorbing back-to-back losses in the PVL Invitational Conference.

After sweeping 13 games en route to back-to-back titles in the PVL on Tour and Invitational last year, PLDT lost two of its first three games in its title defense.

READ: PVL: PLDT halts slump, tops Farm Fresh to keep title defense alive

Savi Davison, however, came to the rescue, dropping 32 points as the High Speed Hitters revived their title hopes with a 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20 win over Farm Fresh on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Aware of the outside noise, coach Rald Ricafort is trying to ease the pressure by focusing on one game at a time rather than defending their title.

“The defending champion tag isn’t really relevant to us this conference because it just adds hype and becomes a distraction,” said PLDT coach Rald Ricafort in Filipino. “What’s more important for us is how we responded after the losses to Nxled and Vietnam, which were really tough for us, especially because we didn’t have much time to recover mentally.”

“I told them before the game that if that’s the lesson we’re going to get from this conference, then we have to maximize it. There are so many distractions outside of the game, but this is our job, so we really have to stay focused,” he added.

PLDT High Speed Hitters’ Savi Davison during a game vs Farm Fresh Foxies in the 2026 PVL Invitational Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Team captain Kath Arado, who had 24 digs, said the High Speed Hitters have also learned to lean on one another amid the criticism.

“Honestly, you can’t really avoid it because social media is huge now and fans are really invested in volleyball. Personally, I’m not really active on social media, so that helps me avoid the noise,” said Arado in Filipino.

READ: PVL: Ho Chi Minh stuns PLDT for breakthrough Invitational win

“It also helps that we have our coaches handling the technical side. We check on each other whenever we see each other and ask, ‘How are you?’ From there, we can tell if everyone is doing okay.”

“But what we really want to build is our relationship as a team. Whatever we hear outside or whatever happens within the team, we need to stay together. We’ll just listen to what the coaches tell us because that’s what will help us grow as a team,” she added.

Ricafort also credited the squad’s growth after three seasons together, particularly in handling adversity.

Kath Arado and Savi Davison on PLDT’s final elimination game against Creamline. #PVL2026 @inquirersports pic.twitter.com/H4bdXo4WT8

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) September 4, 2026

“The team is definitely growing, and credit to all the teams because the games have been really tough. I think the biggest growth I’ve seen from us is that we’re now able to pinpoint the technical things we need to fix. Before, there were still a lot of differences among the players, but now we’re more solid even when we lose,” the PLDT coach said.

“We’re already at the point where we need to focus on growing as volleyball players. We really want this conference, but because of what happened, we weren’t able to get the games and results we wanted. It’s not over yet, though. We still have to fight until Tuesday,” he added.

PLDT hopes to stay in finals contention against Creamline on Sunday.

“They’re champions, they’ve been together for a long time, and they know each other really well. They’re a tough team to play against, but that’s our job. If we want to win, we have to work harder and stay focused,” Arado said.

“Creamline won’t give us an easy win. It’s not going to be like previous conferences where we could just expect to win. We have to think that we’re back to zero. We won today, but now we’re back to zero. We have to keep working and study them.”