Foton handily disposed of Mane ‘n Tail, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19, while Philips Gold fought through five match points to outlast Cignal, 21-25, 25-23, 25-9, 18-25, 20-18, Saturday night as they barged into the semifinals of the Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference at Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Under fire from a determined Cignal squad that went up 14-9 in the deciding set, Myla Pablo ignited successive bombs as Philips Gold forced the issue into a crunch time tug-of-war.
“I simply challenged the girls,” said Philips coach Francis Vicente. They will face unbeaten leader Petron in tomorrow’s semifinals at Cuneta Astrodome.
The Tornadoes didn’t take chances in thrashing the Lady Stallions to gain the right to fight the Shopinas Lady Clickers in the other semifinal action.
Rookie Desiree Dadang was instrumental in the rousing win, firing the winning point right at an open space up front.
But it was the collective effort of the Lady Slammers that spelled the difference down the stretch.
Rookie Carmela Tunay accounted for 18 points for Cignal including a slammer that made it 14-9 in the fifth that fittingly ended a long furious rally.
But Pablo next fired successive down the line missiles as the Lady Slammers slowly chipped away at the lead.
Team captain Michele Gumabao strung up two quick points including one that made it 15-15, followed by a costly error from Cignal that eventually put Philips Gold at match point, 16-15.
Cherry Vivas tied it for Cignal before teammate Mervic Mangui hit long for 17-16. Mangui redeemed herself with back-to-back hit as the HD Spikers made a final stand, 18-17. Marc Reyes