La Sallian, Abi Maraño dished out 14 points on an efficient clip as the Meralco Power Spikers took the heat out of the Baguio Summer Spikers in straight sets 25-17, 25-8, 25-14 in the Shakey’s V-League Open Conference, at the San Juan Arena.
The Summer Spikers put up some semblance of resistance in the first set, but were never able to stop any of Meralco’s main gunners. Aside from Maraño, fellow La Sallian, Cha Cruz also cracked double digits with markers, while Atenean, Fille Cainglet-Cayetano, drained nine points.
None of Baguio’s players scored more than six points, as even Krissian Tsuchiya and Jhiessel Agudia scored just six points for the region’s select team. Furthermore, Baguio scored only 39 points the entire match with 17 of them coming from Meralco’s errors.
“Maganda ‘yung ineensayo ng team. Masigla ‘yung nilaro nila kanina. Paunti-unti kami nakakapag-gel,” said Meralco Coach, Brian Esquibel. “Kahit may laro sa ibang liga ‘yung iba kong players, una pa rin naman nila, priority pa rin nila puntahan ‘yung mga ensayo naming sa Meralco. Masaya ako na ‘yung puso nila nasa Meralco pa ‘rin.”
When asked about his team’s upcoming faceoff with the Army Lady Troopers, Esquibel affirmed his confidence in his team. “Confident ako na makakalaban kami. Sa nilalaro kasi ng Army ngayon, parang nagrerestart rin sila ng lineup. Pero mag-iiba ‘yung laro, kung makakalaro na si (Jovelyn) Gonzaga.”
The Army-Meralco tiff will take place on April 19, while the Baguio has the Coast Guard Dolphins on April 16.
The Scores:
Meralco (3) – Maraño 14, Cruz 10, Cayetano 9, Mercado 6, Legacion 4, Hernandez 3, Tiu 2, Belleza 2, Hingpit 1, Morada 1, Guevara 1, Angustia 1, Reyes (L)
Baguio (0) – Agudia 6, Tsuchiya 6, Benitez 4, Almonte 4, Rossi 1, Daniel 1, Tolentino 0, Abella (L)
