Sta. Rosa, Laguna—Cignal made quick work of Sta. Lucia, 25-18, 25-23, 25-14, to complete its sweep of Pool A in the Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference Tuesday at the Sta. Rosa Multi-purpose Sports Complex here.
The HD Spikers continued to show their strong connection as they scored another three-set win after dominating the Lady Realtors in 80 minutes to stay perfect in three games.
National team member Mylene Paat shone as she delivered 12 points off nine kills, a pair of aces and a block, while Rachel Anne Daquis had 10 points and 16 digs to boost the HD Spikers’ semifinal bid.
Do-it-all setter Alohi Robins-Hardy also paced the team with 14 excellent sets on top of eight markers while Jheck Dionela protected the floor with 17 digs and eight excellent receptions.
After sweeping a 3-0 start, Cignal skipper Daquis said they couldn’t let their guards down as they join Petron, PLDT and Marinerang Pilipina in Pool C for the next round, where the top two squads advance to the knockout semifinals
“We can’t be complacent because every game is important in this short conference,” said Daquis, who led a strong second set comeback from a 16-22 deficit.
“After we realized it in the second set, the team woke up and became motivated to try to finish it in straight sets and give our best.”
After a convincing opening set, the HD Spikers erased a 16-22 second set deficit as Daquis and Gonzaga led the squad to score seven unanswered points for a 23-22 led only for Robins-Hardy’s service error that halted their run but they completed the comeback as Joy Dacoron committed a net touch and got blocked by Doria.
Cignal stole the momentum and waxed hot in the third set with a 21-8 spread, never looking back to complete the sweep.
Pam Lastimosa was the lone Lady Realtor to score in double figures for Sta. Lucia, which absorbed its second straight defeat after an opening-day win over Foton.
The Lady Realtors will be grouped in Pool D with F2 Logistics, Generika-Ayala and Foton.
