After falling short in their first three outings, the Cocolife Asset Managers picked up their historic first win, edging the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors in four sets, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
After surrendering the first set, the Asset Managers leaned on their heavy serving to disrupt the mis-receiving Lady Realtors. Cocolife tallied 14 service aces to Sta. Lucia’s three. Cocolife’s serving also resulted in faulty Sta. Lucia attacks — they powered in 52 attacks to the Lady Realtors’ 36.
“Masaya, napakalaking bagay kasi ‘yung confidence namin ng team at nang mga bata medyo tumataas na kumpara noong mga nakaraan,” said head coach Obet Javier.
Now at 1-3, Cocolife are a long-shot to make the semifinals. Still, Javier wants his players to show pride in the final stretch of the season.
“Hindi namin tinitignan ‘yun (chances sa semis) kasi nga tatlong talo na. Ang importante na lang sa amin ‘yung every game maipakita namin sa mga nanonood, sa admin na nag-iimprove ang team,” the NCAA champion coach furthered. “First time binuo kahit papano ‘di naman nawawalan ng resulta. Laging meron progress.”
Michele Gumabao topped the Asset Mangers with 16 points, while Arellano standout Jovielyn Prado added 13.
Middle hitter Lourdes Clemente led the Lady Realtors with 11 markers, while Ranya Musa manged nine. Sta. Lucia fell to the bottom of the standings with a 0-4 record.
The Asset Mangers will head to Muntinlupa Sports Complex on Saturday, March 18, when they face the Cignal HD Spikers in their final game of the elimination round. Sta. Lucia, on the other hand, take on Generika-Ayala on the same day at 5:00pm.
The Scores
Cocolife (3) – Gumabao 16, Prado 13, Arocha 11, Marzan 8, Esguerra 7, Gaston 6, Ramirez 3, Tiu 2, Vargas 2, Daly 1, Patrona 1, Alkuino 0, Lazaro (L), Galang (L)
Sta. Lucia (1) – Clemente 11, Musa 9, Austero 5, Henson 5, Sante 5, Navarro 4, Imbo 3, Sabete 3, Cheng 1, Umandal 1, Gual 0, Enclona (L), Torres (L)
