Aby Maraño and Ara Galang led the league-leading F2 Logistics Cargo Movers to top the Standard Insurance-Navy Corvettes in straight sets, 26-24, 25-16, 25-14, in the elimination round of the All-Filipino Conference of the Philippine Superliga 2016, Sunday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Maraño led all scorers with 12 points off eight kills and two blocks, while Galang had 10 points off six attacks, two blocks, and two aces.
On the other hand, Pau Soriano was the only Corvette who reached double-digit scoring with 10 points off eight attacks and two blocks.
In a hard-fought first set, the teams were tied at 20 apiece when a passing error by Corvettes captain Janet Serafica and two cross court attacks by Kim Dy from the same spot gave the Cargo Movers their first taste of the lead, 23-20, and forced Standard Insurance head coach Zenaida Chavez to call a timeout.
After their huddle, a block and a down-the-line attack by Divine Eguia brought Navy back into the game. Three kills by Green Archer Ara Galang, however, ended the extended set for F2 Logistics, 26-24.
The Cargo Movers led by five, 16-11, after the second technical timeout of the second set capped by back-to-back blocks by Aby Maraño in a long rally. The former UAAP MVP continued to display her solid performance as she led a 9-5 run to finish the set, 25-16, with three kills and two more blocks.
The Lady Corvettes looked like they weren’t going to reach double digit scoring in the third set, as they fell into a 23-8 hole, when an Eguia cross court hit and a block opened a 6-0 mini-run to breathe life into her team. However, consecutive kills by Cargo Movers backup Danika Gendrauli ended the game and the set for F2 Logistics.
Both teams will visit their Batangueño fans on Tuesday as F2 Logistics (5-0) will face Petron (4-1), while the Lady Corvettes (2-3) will go up against Foton at the Batangas City Coliseum.
“Ganu’n naman siguro ang thinking ng lahat ng teams. ‘Di naman kailangang all-out,” Cargo Movers head coach Ramil De Jesus said about the marquee match-up against Petron. “Pagka-sure ka na sa top four, ‘yung iba nagtatago na, ‘yung iba ayaw nang ipakita na ito ‘yung kanilang strength.”
The Scores:
F2 Logistics (3) – Maraño 12, Galang 10, Dy 9, Reyes 6, Cruz 6, Fajardo 5, Baron 4, Mercado 3, Gendrauli 2, Soliven 0, Soyud 0, Cheng (L), Macandili (L)
Standard Insurance (0) – Soriano 10, Mabbayad 7, Acuña 5, Eguia 5, Sabete 3, Serafica 2, Martinez 1, Genido 1, Dela Cruz 1, Diaz 0, Madulid 0, Veronas 0, Ticar (L)
