Cignal banked on its trio of wingers to get past Chery Tiggo, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-20, in Game 1 of the best-of-three Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference battle for bronze series yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The HD Spikers rebounded from a painful semifinals loss to move within a win away from claiming a fourth third-place finish overall.
Cignal, which squandered a 1-0 semis series lead over eventual finalist Choco Mucho, weathered a shaky first two sets before hanging tough in the closing stretch of the fourth frame to finish off the Crossovers in the two-hour encounter.
“Even if we struggled in our last game, good thing we’re able to rebound and what’s important is that we got the win,” HD Spikers head coach Shaq delos Santos said.
Youngblood Vanie Gandler displayed her scoring prowess to lead all scorers, posting 21 points including 20 attacks for Cignal, which can close the series on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m very happy of course with how the team performed. Given that we didn’t have much time to rest, we’re very tired but today was really more of a test of character and heart so we all just poured our hearts out. Hopefully, the same will happen on Saturday,” Gandler said.
Jovelyn Gonzaga had 15 points, 17 digs and 12 excellent receptions while Ces Molina scored all her 13 points from kills she laced with 14 digs and 14 excellent receptions for the HD Spikers.
Gel Cayuna dished out 21 excellent sets to help Cignal land 59 kill points.
The HD Spikers ignited a huge 7-2 run to shatter a 13-13 deadlock for a 20-15 lead. Chery Tiggo answered with three straight points before Gandler sparked another four-point barrage to move at match point, 24-18.
The Crossovers saved two match points but Gonzaga stopped them on their tracks with a sharp crosscourt hit that went off the hands of Eya Laure with libero Jen Nierva coming off a bit late to save it.
Pauline Gaston scattered 14 points, Mylene Paat and Laure had 13 points each while EJ Laure made 12 in a lost cause for Chery Tiggo, which suffered its fifth straight defeat.
The Crossovers also committed 29 errors that hastened their downfall.
