Cagayan rises from 1st set woe, routes Meralco in four sets

MANILA, Philippines—A first set blunder would not dash their victory hopes as the Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns took down the Meralco Power Spikers 3-1, 17-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-21, in the last match of the eliminations of the women’s division of the Shakey’s V-League at the Arena in San Juan Thursday evening.

Luck eventually smiled upon the Rising Suns after a tumultuous third set as Power Spiker Wanida Kotruang committed a blunder that ended Meralco’s hopes for a single victory and giving the second-seeded Cagayan a win before going into the Finals.

Cagayan head coach Nes Pamilar said he was perplexed on what happened to his team which gave away the first set and nearly lost the third.

“They played really well in the past outings but I’m surprised on what happened here today,” Pamilar said.

With a comfortable six-point lead, 21-15, going into the final moments of the match, Cagayan nearly let their guard down with Meralco cutting it to two as Kotruang hit on back-to-back points and Aby Maraño blocking Janine Marciano’s attempt to put the scores at 22-20.

Despite the non-bearing match, Pamilar said that they should always be a hundred percent focused on the match.

“We can’t be complacent, even if this match has no bearing at all, we should always give our best,” Pamilar said.

Aiza Pontillas led the second-seed Cagayan with 18 points as Patcharee Saengmuang and Amporn Hyapha pitching in 16 and 10 apiece as the Lady Rising Suns finished their eliminations with a 4-2 slate.

Kotruang led Meralco with 21 points but her efforts proved futile as her team failed to win a single outing and ended the eliminations with a 0-6 record.

On Sunday, Cagayan would face the Philippine Army Lady Troopers in the Finals of the tournament.