After losing the first two sets, Cignal HD Spikers mounted a fiery come-from-behind finish to pin down the struggling Philippine Army Troopers in five tight sets, 18-25, 21-25, 28-26, 25-21, and 15-13 in the Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Reinforced Conference Monday afternoon at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Cignal’s third victory in the preliminary round secures them a slot in the conference playoffs, while the Troopers, with their third straight loss, have a very bleak chance to barge into the semis.
Three HD Spikers starred for Cignal in today’s win. Peter Torres led the team with 15 points off 11 attacks. Edmar Bonono had 13, while Lorenzo Capate chipped in 12 markers. Setter Glacy Diezmo supplied 32 excellent sets.
The Troopers, with the spark provided by Joel Villonson and PJ Rojas, played excellently on all facets to post a quick 13-5 lead in the opening frame. Cignal received contributions from Bonono and Capate to punch in a few points, but could not mount a surge from behind as Army, this time with Ben Labide and Rojas, maximized their quick attacks and open kills to post a seven-point set win, 25-18.
With their hits going wide, Army lagged behind Cignal early, 8-7, in Set 2 but was able to arrest their slide behind the duo of Labide and Rojas to snatch the lead, 18-15. Cignal, through consecutive kills by Torres, made a run of their own to push the set to a 20-all knot. However, the HD Spikers’ own attack errors proved costly, and with a Rojas back row attack, the Troopers went up 2-0, 25-21.
With their backs against the wall, the HD Spikers bucked a slow start in the third canto to come out on top, 13-11. Army then came back and initiated a back-and-forth affair to send the set to 19-all. From there, both teams pushed each other to the brink, sending the set to three deuces, 26-all. Army had chances to win the match, but two straight attack errors helped Cignal extend the match, 28-26.
Sustaining momentum from Set 3, Cignal took the upper hand all through out the fourth period, posting a 19-15 lead approaching the final sequences of the set. Army came back and scored four straight behind Villonson and Labide to forge a 19-all tie, however, the HD Spikers caught fire on both ends, outscoring Army 6-2 courtesy of Bonono’s combo hits to force a decider, 25-21.
In the deciding set, Army, with Villonson working, stepped up their net defense to lead early, 6-1. However, the much younger HD Spikers came from behind and stole Army’s thunder to tie the set at 11-all. Army had opportunities to make their own run, but ran out of gas late as Bonjomar Castel provided the final blows through check balls to give Cignal the semis-clinching win, 15-13.
“Nung first two sets parang hindi kami magkakakilala eh,” said Cignal head coach Michael Cariño postgame, when asked about their 0-2 start. “Sa ganitomg kumpetisyon, nakaka-apat na game na kami, dapat ‘di na ganito nilalaro namin.”
“Pero nag-step up naman sila the last three remaining sets, so okay naman,” Cariño added.
Cignal, now sporting a 3-1 slate, will look to cap off their preliminary round with a win against 100Plus this Saturday, October 29. Army (1-3) will look to finish the conference on a strong note as they take on IEM next week, Wednesday, at November 2. Both games are set at 12:30 PM.
The Scores:
Cignal (3) – Torres 15, Bonono 13, Capate 12, Castel 8, Marasigan 4, Ybañez 4, Ramos 4, Diezmo 3, Mangulabnan 2, Calasin 1, Montero L, Dela Cruz L.
Army (2) – Labide 23, Rojas 19, Villonson 13, Torres 8, Oxciano 6, Depamaylo J. 3, Baloaloa 2, Depamaylo N. 1, Reyes 0, Bayking L, Uy L.
