In the battle of the remaining winless teams, the Standard Insurance-Navy Corvettes proved just a little less worse than the Amy’s Kitchen Spikers.
The Corvettes took their first win in three games, 25-21, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20, in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Navy got into the habit of letting big leads slip away throughout the match. In the first set, the Corvettes led comfortably, 17-9, before letting the young Spikers get within two, 20-17. Late kills from Pau Soriano allowed Navy to secure the set. After a tight battle in the second set, Navy looked primed to blow Amy’s out of the water, bolting to a 15-3 advantage in the third frame. But the Corvettes’ errors and botched receives began to pile up, opening the door for the Spikers to slice the lead down to one, 18-19. After a timeout, Navy unfurled a 4-1 run before again letting Amy’s get close. Kills from Hezzy Acuña and Lilet Mabbayad prevented another deuce and gave the set to Navy.
Amy’s had control for much of the fourth set, leading 16-14. However, the Corvettes proved too much in the end as the veterans were able to close the match.
“Kinakabahan nanaman ang mga player ko, as usual,” said Navy head coach and local volleyball legend Zenaida Ybañez-Chavez. “Hindi sila magkaunawaan. Hindi ko din alam kung minamaliit ba nila ‘yung kalaban. Aang kalaban nag-join din naman sa PSL ibig sabihin malakas pa din sila.”
Acuña led the Corvettes with 17 points. Former Adamson Lady Falcon Soriano added 15, while Divine Eguia pitched in 12.
Cindy Imbo led Amy’s with 17 points, Maribeth Lara managed 14, while towering Lourdes Clemente had 12 points.
The league now takes a one-week break and resumes on July 12 at the Cuneta Astrodome with undefeated teams Petron (3-0) and Army (3-0) clashing at 4:15 p.m., then Cignal (0-3) takes on Navy (1-2) at 6:15 p.m.
The Scores:
Standard Insurance-Navy (3) – Acuña 17, Soriano 15, Eguia 12, Mabbayad 8, Sabete 8, Dela Cruz 4, Madulid 3, Serafica 3, Martinez 2, Genido 0, Veronas 0, Ticar (L), Fortuno (L)
Amy’s Kitchen (1) – Imbo 17, Lara 14, Clemente 13, Raterta 6, Rosal 4, Bravo 2, Versoza 1, Estanislao 0, Ramos 0, Umandal 0, Medalla (L)
