The Cignal HD Spikers stumbled, but still ran away with their first win in the 2017 Chooks-to-Go Philippine Superliga Grand Prix, slamming the Generika-Ayala Lifesavers, 25-16, 25-21, 25-27, 25-21, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Cignal executed masterfully in the first two sets, keeping the Lifesavers on their heels with solid serving and defense. The HD Spikers had a straight-sets win in sight, leading the third frame 23-20. But the Lifesavers had a last ditch gasp. Thanks to a string of Cignal errors, the Lifesavers forced a deuce and extended the match with hits from imports Darlene Ramdin and Katarina Pilepic.
“Nawala kami sa gameplan namin,” said Cignal head coach George Pascua about their collapse, “May target kami sa serve na hindi namin naituloy i-execute. At the same time, di na rin kami naka-block.”
The fourth frame nearly had another close finish, with the teams tied 19. Except Cignal had a last burst of brilliance, transitioning and stifling all of Generika’s late attacks to secure the win.
Cignal imports and middle blockers Alexis Matthews and Beth Carey did most of the heavy lifting, combining for 35 points and eight blocks.
Pascua was keen to point out a lack of production from his open hitters Royse Tubino, Rachel Daquis, and captain Stephanine Mercado, who only had 12 points as a trio.
“Kailangan pa namin ng puntos sa kanila kasi nga open sila and nababantayan na talaga middles namin. Madalas single block na lang napupunta sa kanila. Kailangan nila ma-convert ‘yun,” added Pascua as his squad also got a lift from Generika’s 31 errors.
Katarina Pilepic topped Generika with 25 points, while Darlene Ramdin managed 23 in their second losing effort in three matches.
The HD Spikers (1-1) face a huge early assignment against the red-hot Petron Blaze Spikers (2-0) on Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Centre. Generika (1-2) will try to recover against the Foton Tornadoes (1-0) on November 4 at the University of Saint La Salle – Bacolod Gym.
The Scores
Cignal (3) – Matthews 19, Gonzaga 17, Carey 16, Daquis 6, Tubino 4, Mercado 2, Paat 2, Saet 2, Marciano 1, Macatuno 0, Morada 0, Miyashita (L), Dionela (L)
Generika-Ayala (1) – Pilepic 25, Ramdin 23, Ceballos 7, Cortez 4, Araneta 2, Legacion2 2, Casugod 1, Snuka 1, Masangkay 0, Cerveza 0, Orendain 0, Arado (L)
