Behind Som Kuthaisong and Angeli Araneta, the Generika-Ayala Lifesavers clinched their first win streak of the 2019 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix, rallying past the United Volleyball Club, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
After gutting out an ankle injury to middle blocker Ria Meneses in the fourth set, Generika-Ayala opened the decider with a 10-6 flurry thanks to captain Angeli Araneta. Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani sparked a run that knotted the set at 10, and eventually hit another spike that had the match at a 12-all balance. Back-to-back UVC errors from Kalei Mau and Bedart-Ghani gave Generika-Ayala the room to take the win via a Som Kuthaisong spike.
“Sabi ko lang naman sa kanila, ‘Ano may power pa ba tayo?’,” Generika head coach Sherwin Meneses recalled challenging his players.
“Kasi pag nag-conditioning naman sila pagka wala ka ng power talagang matatalo ka e malalakas pa so nakahabol. ‘Yung conditioning nila okay pa,” he added.
Kuthaisong and Araneta combined for 10 points in the fifth set. The Thai import finished with 19 points while Fiolla Ceballos managed 16.
Mau recorded her PSL career-high 33 points, the most a local ha scored since Dindin Santiago-Manabat tallied 37 in 2014. Bedart-Ghani added 25.
Generika-Ayala (3-7) takes on Sta. Lucia (2-7) on Saturday while UVC (5-6) faces Foton (1-8) on Tuesday. Both matches will be played at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Scores
Generika-Ayala (3) – Kuthaisong 19, Ceballos 16, Meneses 13, Araneta 8, Kocyigit 6, Hingpit 3, Lavitoria 2, Orendain 1, Cerveza 0, Llagoso 0, General (L)
UVC (2) – Mau 33, Bedart-Ghani 25, Angustia 11, Robins-Hardy 9, Ahomiro 8, Palec 4, Alkuino 0, Tejada 0, Tiu 0, Pineda (L)
