Tai Bierra continues to thrive in a bench role as Cignal took out Chery Tiggo in three sets, 28-26, 25-17, 25-23, to chalk up its first win in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference semifinals, Thursday at the Philsports Arena.
Bierria came off the bench for the third straight matc.
She dropped 21 points on 19 attacks and two kill blocks to lead the HD Spikers’ quick victory over the Crossovers. That gives them the early 1-0 lead in the round-robin semis along with Creamline (1-0).
Angeli Araneta had 10 points and seven excellent receptions, while Rachel Daquis came up with nine points. Rose Doria and Ria Meneses had eight apiece in the victory.
Gel Cayuna tallied 18 excellent sets on top of three points, while Jheck Dionela recorded 16 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions.
“Well, unexpected din na ma-straight namin yung game kasi siyempre knowing Chery, number two sila. So nagkaroon kami ng chance na magawa namin ng maayos yung game plan kahit na puro review lang talaga kami kahapon,” said Cignal head coach Shaq delos Santos.
“Kung ano yung adjustment na gagawin, and then more on viewing talaga sa Chery. Kasi kailangan talaga namin mag-adjust kasi sobrang tight din nung schedule. Sobrang thankful talaga ako sa panalo namin ngayon,” he added.
After taking the first two sets, the HD Spikers started the third set on the wrong foot. They trailed by as much as four points, 12-16, in the second technical timeout.
Still, they managed to turn things around with Araneta giving Cignal a 23-22 lead after two consecutive points.
Mylene Paat punched a kill to tie the game at 23-all but eventually committed the game-ending attack error after Cayuna’s 1-2 conversion which ended the match.
Paat paced Chery Tiggo with 11 points. Montenegrin reinforcement Jelena Cvijovic submitted 10 points, 10 receptions, and nine digs.
Cignal will go up against Creamline on Sunday, 2:30 PM. On the other hand, Chery Tiggo will take on Petro Gazz at 5:30 PM.
