Cignal downs Petron

CIGNAL played seamlessly against a disjointed Petron side to score a 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 romp even as PLDT MyDSL bucked a slow start to down PCSO Bingo Milyonaryo yesterday at the start of the Philippine Super Liga women’s volleyball tournament at Philsports Arena.

The PLDT Speed Boosters needed some time before hacking out a 22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-20 decision over the Puffins, who had an aggressive start behind La Salle’s Michelle Gumabao.

“It’s not really a slow start but we needed to make adjustments,” said PLDT coach Francis Vicente. “Fortunately, starting the second set, we finally got a spark.”

Lou Ann Latigay played despite an injured shoulder and proved to be the vital cog for PLDT MyDSL by hammering the important points in the second frame.

Anchored by Venus Bernal, who last played competitive volleyball six years ago, the Cignal HD Spikers were hardly threatened in the one-hour, 15-minute match.

“I guess it’s the mind set, we just tried to enjoy the match,” said the 26-year-old Bernal, a former MVP in the UAAP and Shakey’s V-League before joining the corporate world.

She scored 17 points, 14 of them on attacks, to lead Cignal, which also got inspired performances from 20-year-old Honey Rose Tubino, Danika Gendrauli and the comely Michelle Datuin, who chipped in 11, 12 and seven, respectively.

Cignal coach Sinfronio Acaylar said they only had two days to play together and that his marching order to his HD Spikers was to try to jell as soon as they could on the court.

“I told them, it’s going to be quick—we need to work together right away,” said Acaylar.

Ateneo poster girl Gretchen Ho failed to do wonders for the Blaze Spikers and was used sparingly in the third set.

Former University of Santo Tomas star Aiza Maizo-Pontillas topscored for Petron with 11 points, while former teammate Ma. Angeli Tabaquero added nine.