After languishing through a rough start to the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix, the Generika-Ayala Lifesavers pulled off a surprising five-set comeback against the Cignal HD Spikers, 26-24, 18-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-11 at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Lifesavers crawled back from 23-18 deficit in the first set, taking an 8-1 tailwind to blow them past Cignal for the early lead. From there, the Lifesavers struggled to muster momentum, as their errors and bad passing allowed Cignal to take the next two sets comfortably.
Determined to extend the match, Lifesavers imports Symone Hayden and Darlene Ramdin traded blows with Cignal’s foreign reinforcements Jeane Horton and Sanja Milanovic. The fourth set dragged into a halt, seeing its final deadlock at 18-all after a Ramdin smash. The Lifesavers picked up the momentum from that point, with Cignal failing to mount an attack in the next three points and opening the door for Generika to take a decisive 21-18 lead.
Forcing a decider, the Lifesavers took control right from the first point. Visibly winded, the HD Spikers could not counter as Generika rushed to an 8-4 start. The HD Spikers’ last gasp only got them to within two, 11-13, before Generika capped the match with hits from Ramdin and Hayden.
“I think we just really wanted to win today. We didn’t give up and we trusted each other,” said Ramdin, who Generika with 26 points. Hayden added 16.
The Lifesavers ended the first round with a 2-5 record.
Sonja Milanovic towed Cignal with 34 points, while Jeane Horton managed 19.
The HD Spikers slumped into the next phase of the tourney with a 3-4 slate.
The Scores
Generika-Ayala (3) – Ramdin 26, Hayden 16, Araneta 13, Hingpit 5, Lopez 4, Llagoso 3, Orendain 2, Ceballos 1, Ramirez 1, Gutierrez (L), Pineda (L)
Cignal HD (2) – Milanovic 34, Horton 19, Daquis 10, Vivas 7, Navarro 3, Sante 3, Macatuno 0, Masangkay 0, Salamagos 0, Dionela (L)
