Generika-Ayala recovered just in time, escaping the gritty Cignal HD Spikers in five grueling sets, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 22-25, 15-12, in the 2019 PSL All Filipino Conference, Thursday at the Natalio G. Velez Sports and Cultural Center in Silay City.
Buoyed by a three-game winning streak, the Lifesavers secured the first two sets and were poised to wrap things up in the third. However, Cignal had other ideas.
With backs against the wall, HD Spiker team captain Rachel Daquis rallied her teammates and commandeered a comeback that forged a decider.
Generika-Ayala, though, dug deep and pulled out timely conversions from its battle-tested roster that doused the fire out of the HD Spikers and propelled its record to 4-1.
All but four Lifesavers logged in a point for Generika-Ayala. Moreover, four players rammed into double-digit territory.
Patty Orendain spearheaded her team’s attack, scoring 18 points spiked by two aces on top of 11 excellent receptions. Generika-Ayala skipper Angeli Araneta had 17 points built on 14 attacks and three aces.
Fiola Ceballos and Ria Meneses contributed 11 markers each. The former also had 16 excellent digs while the latter notched two rejections.
Kath Arado yet again flaunted her stellar floor defense, notching 31 excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions.
On the other hand, three HD Spikers barged into the twin-digit threshold. Daquis was all over the place, tallying 20 points spiked by two blocks laced with 17 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions that went for naught.
Mylene Paat had 15 markers built on 12 attacks and three blocks while Ranya Musa finished with 10 markers, two of which coming from aces. Jheck Dionela surveyed the floor for Cignal with 21 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions.
Alohi Robins-Hardy supplied 30 excellent sets on top of five points in a losing cause for Cignal, which dropped its third straight game to fall to a 2-3 card.
Generika-Ayala will now turn its attention to the reigning champion Petron while Cignal will try to get back to its winning ways as they next face Foton. Both matches will be played on Tuesday, July 9 at the Bacoor Strike Gym.
