As the Cignal HD Spikers blew their momentum away in a winnable, and possibly, morale-boosting game against the league-leading Petron Blaze Spikers, head coach Sam Acaylar still likes his team’s chances in the ongoing PSL tourney.
In fact, Cignal’s opening set win against Petron yesterday already proved on how lethal the HD Spikers can be when they are in the right page.
“Actually noong first set I’m happy [since] of course nakuha namin ang set so ‘yung heart nila nandoon at lahat ng basics nandoon na pinagaralan namin during practice lumabas,” Acaylar shared on Cignal’s first set win.
However, that glorious moment was short-lived as Petron imposed their will and eventually shattered the momentum that Cignal built.
“But then pagdating ng second set biglang nagtransform [dahil] nandoon na hindi sila nagkakaisa at wala nang communication inside the court,” Acaylar added. “So nakakaano since ineexpect ko na mataas sila.”
A pleasant surprise
One of the key players that Cignal has on its arsenal is UST’s Carmela Tunay.
For the past four games, Tunay steadily showed improvement up to the point wherein she had long stretches in anchoring Cignal’s offense and at the same time contributing crucial plays on defense.
During their game yesterday against Petron, Tunay delivered a team-high 11 points.
Acaylar later on revealed that Tunay played through an injury at the start of the season which led to her early subpar performances. As soon as the injury healed, Acaylar then started to motivate and instill confidence in his rookie skipper.
“Nag-improve siya kasi from the start [of the season] napilay siya,” Acaylar added. “So noong gumaling siya doon sa sprain umaangat siya ng umaangat kasi I always give her a good motivation para magkaroon siya ng tiwala sa sarili niya.”
Looking ahead
Not settling for moral victories, Acaylar and the HD Spikers must now focus in nabbing wins as the PSL season progresses. He indicated that the team must be fundamentally sound and must be efficient on both ends of the court for them to capture wins
“[For us to win more, we must improve,] of course, [on] our skills like service and receive, more set plays and more heart,” Acaylar added.
Currently at fifth place in standings via their 1-3 card, Cignal still has plenty of chances to improve their record and gun for a high playoff seed. And for that to happen, it all starts with the team’s desire to win regardless of whatever uphill battle they are going up against.
“What I liked about the team is that they are very positive about the game,” Acaylar ended. “Kung baga, ang character nila is willing silang masabihan at open-minded sila sa mga instruction. Kaya gustong-gusto ko ang team na ito kahit bata.”
