The Meralco Power Spikers had yet to win a single game after eight attempts in the ongoing 2015 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix. They had some close and winnable games but their end-game woes got the best of them.
However, the Ramil De Jesus-mentored squad finally barged into the win column as they avenged their earlier loss against the RC Cola Air Force Raiders last Saturday in straight sets, 25-21, 28-26, 25-21, at the De La Salle Lipa Campus in Batangas City.
“Namiss namin ‘yung tumalon after ng game. Every game all out naman ang mga bata. May mga times lang talaga na ‘yung end-game hindi namin ma-sustain ‘yung magandang galaw,” De Jesus told reporters after the game. “So ngayon, siguro medyo relaxed kasi wala naman pressure kasi panay naman sila natatalo. Siguro, na-realize din nila na it’s about time na talunin itong RC so iyon, maayos naman ang ipinakita nila.”
“Ang hinihingi lang naman namin is wag sana maging winless bago matapos ang season.”
Liis Kullerkann led Meralco with 15 points and 2 blocks while Christina Alessi followed up with 12 points and 3 digs. In addition, Mika Reyes led all Meralco locals with 9 points while Cha Cruz and Joy Baron chipped in 8 points apiece.
Meralco also came up with the better defensive effort as they had 8 kill blocks, and 24 digs compared to RC Cola’s 3 and 16 respectively. Meanwhile, in the excellent sets department, Kim Fajardo outshined RC Cola counterpart Rhea Dimaculangan with a 30-18 advantage.
Furthermore, De Jesus credited his local players for stepping up once again. All season long, the likes of Reyes, Cruz, Baron, Fajardo, Cyd Demecillo and libero Dawn Macandili provided the necessary push the team needs whenever the imports are having a difficult time.
“Sa service medyo nag-adjust kami talaga kasi mahirap sa isang team ‘yung hindi makareceive ang parehong import,” De Jesus added. “Parehas kami ng RC [kasi] parehas hindi marunong magreceive ang imports namin. So [covered] na lang siguro ng mga locals at siguro nagwork lang ang service namin ngayon kaya nanalo.”
With the team officially dropped from the playoff hunt, Meralco will play their last game of the elimination round against the Cignal HD Spikers tonight, 6:00 pm, at the Filoil Flying V
