Jeanne Horton made sure that she introduced herself with a bang, lifting the Cignal HD Spikers to a surprising sweep of the Cocolife Asset Managers, 25-15, 28-26, 25-15, Tuesday evening at the Strike Gym in Bacoor, Cavite.
Horton, an American playing for the first time in the PSL, towered over everyone in the contest, tallying 24 points on 19 attacks and a whopping five aces.
“From the very start I know Stix very well, she’s very kind, masunurin na player, kahit anong position walang problema sa kanya and I think she will be doung good for the rest of the tournament,” said debuting head coach Edgar Barroga.
After scrapping past the Asset Managers in a marathon second set, it was all Cignal in the third set, racing to a 21-13 lead.
It was a surpsing win for the HD Spikers as they lost veterans Chie Saet, Paneng Mercado, and Royse Tubino in the off-season while Jovelyn Gonzaga and Janine Marciano are still recuperating from injuries.
“‘Yun nga eh, akala ng lahat wala na ang team pero ‘yun ang naging challenge sa akin na trabahuhin ko ito with the help of the coaching staff,” furthered Barroga, who took over from George Pascua.
“Altough hindi kami mangangampante pero syempre ngayon nakita na nila kung sino si Cignal na kaya pala namin,” he furthered.
Sonja Milanovic added 16 markers for Cignal.
Sara Klisura was the sole Asset Manager who scored in double-figures with 20 markers.
The Scores:
Cignal 3 – Horton 24, Milanovic 16, Navarro 7, Daquis 4, Masangkay 3, Vivas 3, Sante 1, Macatuno 0, Tubiera 0, Dionela L, Amutan L
Cocolife 0 – Klisura 20, Milton 9, Balse 4, Tubino 3, Bunag 2, Bautista 2, Santos 1, Patnongon 0, Salak 0, Tejada 0, Lazaro L, Dusaran L
