The Generika Lifesavers cruised past the Standard Insurance–Philippine Navy Lady Corvettes in four sets, 25-16 25-27 20-25 25-13, to win all their assignments in the second preliminary round, en route to clinching the first seed in the 5th-8th Classification of the 2016 Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference, Sunday at the FilOil Flying V Centre, San Juan City.
Tigresses Ria Meneses and Chloe Cortez led the charge for the Lifesavers, who out-muscled their opponents in all of the scoring departments. Meneses had a spiking field day, with 15 of Generika’s 51 attacks. Cortez on her part had three of the team’s 16 service aces.
Going into the match, Generika’s Assistant Coach Jeffrey Drio told his wards to play hard and play with heart, and the Lifesavers kept to this mantra early on.
University of Santo Tomas’ Chloe Cortez started the service ace party for Generika, before Shaiya Adorador followed it up. Reception problems piled up for the Lady Corvettes as the Life Savers mounted a huge 16-11 lead, which was enough to fend off Pau Soriano and company’s attempt at a comeback.
The same story continued in the second set as Generika breezed past another short frame. Navy had their chances from their middle hitters Soriano and Lilet Mabbayad, but they could not get more than that. The blue-shirts slowly built a huge lead, and Ria Meneses finished the frame off with a beautifully executed quick attack, 25-13.
That comeback instinct was evident in the third set and the interim mentor rued his squad’s lack of finishing.
“Naging masyadong kumpiyansa. Yun nga yung sinasabi namin sa kanila na, huwag magbibigay ng momentum,” Drio said. “Yun ang malaking kalaban mo eh, yung makakuha sila ng momentum.”
The Lady Corvettes made some adjustments on first-ball reception and passing in the following set as they finally clicked on offense. Florence Madulid and Norie Jane Diaz provided the much-needed help in the third, sealing the win for Navy. Madulid cut the set deficit to one, 1-2, with a down-the-line kill.
It turned out to be Standard Insurance’s last hurrah, and Generika returned to their deadly from the service area. Ace after ace rained past the Lady Corvettes, as only errors from the Lifesavers kept the former in the game. Nonetheless, Team Captain Rubie De Leon fired off a solid first delivery, leading to another finishing kill from Meneses.
Coach Drio was not expecting to get the win easily. “Natalo kasi sila sa min nung first round. So, expected naming babawi sila,” he shared.
Mabbayad kept the Lady Corvettes in the game with her 11 points, while Soriano chipped in 7 markers.
The Generika Life Savers will battle Amy’s Kitchen on Thursday, August 4 at 4:00pm, for the 5th-8th Classification knockout semifinal. Meanwhile, the Standard Insurance Lady Corvettes will take on Cignal on the following day, also at 4:00pm. Both matches will be at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
Generika (3) – Meneses 16, Casugod 14, Adorador 13, Cortez 12, Tiu 9, De Leon 6, Macabalitao 2, Cabanos 0, Pagdanganan 0, Rivera (L)
Standard Insurance (1) – Mabbayad 11, Soriano 7, Madulid 6, Diaz 6, Eguia 4, Sabete 2, Martinez 2, Serafica 1, Genido 1, Dela Cruz 0, Ticar (L), Fortuno (L)
