RC Cola crushes Cignal, braces for tougher battles ahead

RC Cola Army Lady Troopers. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

RC Cola Army had its guns out and delivered Cignal a three-set beating, 25-16, 25-9, 25-23, in the preliminary stages of the Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix Thursday at San Juan Arena.

Jovelyn Gonzaga found the open spot on the HD Spikers’ blurry defense and delivered a down-the-line kill to seal the Lady Troopers’ 4-6 record that puts them firmly at fourth place behind F2 Logistics, which has 7-3 card.

RC Cola Army will have to duke it out against one of the other four teams in the bottom to secure a spot in the semifinal rounds.

Lady Troopers head coach Kung Fu Reyes is hoping to continue their run in the next round as they chase the biggest prize of winning the championship.

“Iyon na ang pinaghahandaan namin, mga mabibigat na laban [That’s what we are preparing for, the bigger games come playoff time],” said Reyes. “Hopefully, magtama yung peak namin and pagdating ng semifinals aarangkada na [Hopefully, we reach our peak at the right time so we can cruise come semifinals.]”

Gonzaga was the high-point lass for Army unleashing 17 points while Royse Tubino added 10.

Import Laura Schaudt led the HD Spikers, who are still missing the services of Lynda Morales as they dropped to 1-9, with seven points.

RC Cola Army enjoyed 26 free points courtesy of Cignal’s errors and outplayed the HD Spikers with an 8-1 service ace advantage.