The Cignal HD Spikers recovered from a second-set meltdown against the PLDT High Speed Hitters to clinch their first win in the second All-Filipino Conference Sunday.
Cignal leaned on reigning Invitational MVP Ces Molina to pummel its sister team PLDT, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, in the opening day of the season-ending PVL conference at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Molina tallied game-high 20 points aside from 11 digs while Chin Basas and Vanie Gandler contributed 12 points apiece to tow the HD Spikers, which missed the services of Rachel Anne Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga.
“First of all, sobrang thankful kay Lord sa guide niya sa amin the whole game. Happy and syempre sobra talagang… Dahil sa naging performance namin hopefully maging mas inspired kami,” head coach Shaq delos Santos said.
After falling short in the second set, Cignal overcame a deficit in the third frame with Gandler hammering a down-the-line kill, 18-16. But PLDT quickly recovered to knot the game at 18 after Rhea Dimaculangan’s block.
Tied at 21, Jacqueline Acuna’s dump ball sparked a 4-0 closeout to establish a 2-1 advantage in the game.
It was a tight start in the fourth set until Chai Troncoso ignited a 6-0 spurt midway through the frame, capped by a block of Ria Meneses to Savannah Davison’s drop ball, 16-10.
Cignal appeared to be untouchable from thereon as Troncoso put them at 20-14 off a crosscourt spike.
However, the High Speed Hitters crawled back in the set with a 5-0 fightback, including two attacks from Royse Tubino, to trim their deficit to a single point, 19-20.
A service error from Dimaculangan ended their rally followed by an ace of Meneses and a spike of setter Gel Cayuna, 23-19. Molina put an ice on the battle with a drop and a combination play.
Newbie Davison led PLDT with 17 points and 11 digs while Erika Santos and Tubino chipped in 21 combined points.