FINALS-BOUND Cagayan Valley bucked a listless start to keep Meralco winless with a 17-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-21 walloping Thursday night in the Shakey’s V-League Third Conference at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Using the match as a warmup for their keenly awaited series with Army starting tomorrow, the Rising Suns took their game up a notch starting the second set to deal the Power Spikers their sixth loss.
Cagayan drew firepower from Aiza Maizo Pontillas and Thai reinforcement Patcharee Saengmuang as it fashioned out the win in an hour and 39 minutes. The Rising Suns finished the eliminations with a 4-2 record.
With Wanida Kotruang on the firing end, the Power Spikers got off to a fiery start, relying on quick combination plays to find gaps in the Rising Suns defense.
When the Rising Suns finally got going in the second set, however, there was little the Power Spikers could do to stop them.
Relea Saet had 32 excellent sets that contributed to the output of Pontillas, who scored 18 hits, and Saengmuang, who tallied 16.
Although both teams finished with 46 attack points each, the Rising Suns committed just 22 errors, 10 less than the Power Spikers.
Kotruang tallied a game-high 21 hits for Meralco which also got a combined 21 points from former La Salle stars Abi Maraño and Stephanie Mercado.