The Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors deflected a near record-setting performance from Gyselle Silva to escape the Smart Prepaid Giga Hitters, 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, for their third win in the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Cruising through the first two sets, Sta. Lucia suddenly got hit by a resurgent Smart side in the second set. Trailing 12-16, the Lady Realtors leaned on a determined Silva to force a 21-all tie. Silva then capped the set, going off the block to extend the match to a fourth frame.
“Malakas talaga ‘yung Silva. Nasa gameplan na namin na alam naming gagawa siya, so ginawa na lang namin ang best na medyo pahirapan siya,” said Sta. Lucia head coach George Pascua.
Silva ended up with 40 points, scoring her last point late to keep the Giga Hitter within one, 22-23. But Smart’s reception woes proved to costly as the Lady Realtors sealed the match following an ace from setter Rebecca Rivera.
“Maganda naman ang pinapakita ng team, nagiging maganda ang resulta ng training at practice namin. Hopefully, magtuloy-tuloy,” thought Pascua.
Bohdana Anisova topped the Lady Realtors with 23 points while Filipino-American standout Mar-Jana Phillips added 15.
The Lady Realtors evened their record at 3-3 with their last match of the first round coming on Thursdaya against the Foton Tornadoes (3-3).
Silva was the only Giga Hitter in double-digits as Sanja Trivunovic only managed eight markers.
The Giga Hitters remain winless in seven outings.
The Scores
Sta. Lucia (3) – Anisova 23, Phillips 15, Field 14, Laborte 6, Lastimosa 5, Rivera 3, Sabete 1, Berte 0, De Leon 0, Raslan 0, Moncks (L)
Smart Prepaid (1) – Silva 40, Trivunovic 8, Madulid 3, Penetrante 3, Serafica 3, Acuna 1, Bangcola 1, Delos Reyes 1, Agno (L), Torres (L)
