Strong Cignal

Carmela Tunay of Petron goes for a kill against Mylene Paat (L) and May Macatuno of Cignal. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon

Cignal finally discovered the chinks in Petron’s armor as it scored a 25-22, 18-25, 25-15, 25-19 triumph over its erstwhile unbeaten rival in the final round of the Belo Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference on Thursday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Jovelyn Gonzaga and Rachel Anne Daquis were at the forefront of the HD Spikers’ assault to deal the Blaze Spikers their first loss in six matches.

Gonzaga had 16 points while Daquis chipped in 15 as the HD Spikers exploited their experience to the hilt.

“This is the turning point in our campaign,” said Cignal coach George Pascua, whose wards bowed to the Blaze Spikers in the elimination round. “I reminded them of our loss to Petron in the first round. That setback should serve as a learning experience for us. It means that we still have more to improve on as a team. I’m glad that we pulled it through.”

Foton and guest team Kobe Shinwa University of Japan are the other teams in the final round.

Earlier, Generika-Ayala scored a hard-earned 25-19, 23-25, 25-27, 25-18, 15-12 victory over Sta. Lucia Realty in the classification phase.

Gen Casugod starred in the middle while Angeli Araneta and Fiola Mae Ceballos were similarly impressive for the Lifesavers, who inched closer toward fourth place.

Casugod, the former Far Eastern University star who is part of the 24-woman national pool, delivered 20 kills and five blocks en route to a game-high 25 points while Araneta and Ceballos had 13 and 14 points, respectively.

“If we want to claim fourth place, we should always maintain our killers’ instinct,” said Generika coach Francis Vicente.