Cignal turned in another imposing start to a Premier Volleyball League drive, foiling Army Black Mamba with strong finishes in the last two sets for a 25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20 victory in the Invitational Conference before a big opening day crowd at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan on Saturday.
Ces Molina and Rachel Daquis stood at the forefront of the HD Spikers’ pair of explosive windups while Gel Cayuna stayed as sharp as ever despite a long layoff, putting up a stellar game after winning the best setter honors in the PVL Open Conference last April.
She produced 24 excellent sets, six more than counterpart Ivy Perez, with Molina and Daquis converting most of their hits from Cayuna’s superb playmaking skills all throughout the match that kicked off the league’s mid-season conference, which will feature two foreign squads in the next phase.
“We made some adjustments on our service receive and got our combination and attacking game going,” said Cayuna, who chipped in seven points on her way to bagging the game’s best player honors.
Thrust into the spotlight in the absence of head coach Shaq delos Santos, assistant mentor Kirk Beliran delivered, firing up his wards when they were in control and motivating them when trailing.
“I’m thankful that they were able to adjust on our service receive. They struggled but I have complete trust in them,” said Beliran, who also drew 16 digs from Angelique Dionela and 14 from Molina and 22 points from the team in reception.
The HD Spikers also controlled the net to anchor their solid defense, coming away with 16 blocks against their rivals’ four with Molina and Daquis likewise flashing their fine defensive skills and timing with a combined seven-block effort.
The Lady Troopers used their experience to make a big turnaround in the second frame and even forced a 10-all count in the third and led 15-12 in the fourth. But they failed to match the HD Spikers’ poise and spunk, particularly during long rallies, and hastened their downfall with a spate of miscues, the last a Perez service error that wrapped up the two-hour, four-minute clash.
Molina fashioned out a 20-hit effort while Daquis and Roselyn Doria delivered 10 points apiece for the HD Spikers, who also put in an impressive start in the Open Conference all the way to the quarters, only to lose steam in the semis of the season-opening offering of the league organized by Sports Vision.
This time, they vow to go all the way to the finals.
But one win doesn’t make a champion team as the HD Spikers still have to hurdle a lot of stumbling blocks leading to a dream finish given the strength and class of the rest of the seven-team field in the single-round elims.
Ria Meneses also took care of the middle, finishing with eight hits while Angeli Araneta added six points for Cignal, which actually yielded four attack points to Army, 44-48, but more than made up for it with their imposing net defense.
Nene Bautista, a top volley figure since Sports Vision revived the once-dormant sport in 2004, continued to amaze with her staying power, even top-scoring for Army with 14 points while the comebacking Jovelyn Gonzaga and Michelle Morente backed her up with 13 and 12 hits, respectively.