Super Liga: Cignal outlasts Systema in 5

MANILA, Philippines–Gilbert Ablan shone in the fifth and deciding set as Cignal avoided an epic collapse to  nip Systema, 25-14, 25-17, 17-25, 23-25, 15-13, Friday night at the start of the PLDT Home DSL-Philippine Super Liga All-Filipino Conference at Cuneta Astrodome.

Ablan, a hard-hitting 21-year-old from San Beda, hammered out crucial spikes to bail out the HD Spikers, who didn’t expect the scrambling finish after easily winning the first two sets off a straight sets win.

“This is a top-level competition. Teams can come back. And you can’t rest just because you have a two-sets lead,” said Cignal coach Michael Carino. “That’s why we’re happy we were able to prove that we can stand the pressure.”

Carino admitted that they let their guards down, but maintained that they didn’t give up when the going got tough.

“He (Ablan) carried us through the fifth set,” said Carino of his top player, who finished with 25 points.

But Systema mounted a big rally anchored on  John Depante. Adjusting its defense and stepping up on the other end, Systema breezed through the third set before clawing hard to force the deciding set.

Ablan pushed the HD Spikers to a 12-8 lead in the deciding set, and just when the Active Smashers were staging yet another comeback, he sneaked in a string of spikes to preserve the win.

Howard Mojica had 16 points for Cignal.