Cignal, Foton spike foes

Cignal overcame a momentary interruption to down Sta. Lucia Realty, 20-25, 25-10, 25-20, 25-10, Saturday in the Belo-Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference at Malolos Sports and Convention Center.

And this early, Cignal coach George Pascua said they are on target for the semifinals after snaring their second win in three matches.

“We are still adjusting. But the important thing is that we are on track for the semis,” said Pascua.

“We managed to cut down our errors unlike last game,” added Pascua. “We have a very good chance of making it to the top three. We just need to work hard and treat each game as if it’s a championship match.”

Yet for a while back there, the HD Spikers were in peril after the newcomers Realtors pounced on their lethargic start to steal the opening set.

Sta. Lucia’s Lourdes Clemente and Rachel Austero caught Cignal by surprise after they came out with sterling performances in the first set.

But Cignal soon recovered its footing with veterans Rachel Anne Daquis, Honey Royse Tubino and Jovelyn Gonzaga taking charge.

“We’ve been together for only a month. We’re still working on making some adjustments,” said Daquis. “We just need to keep working very hard.”

Daquis wound up with 12 points. Tubino finished with 10 points, most of them coming in the fourth set when the HD Spikers took total command.

Clemente, a very promising 6-foot-2 middle blocker, had 10 points for Sta. Lucia.

In the second game, Dindin Manabat unloaded 19 points, including two solid hits at crunch time, as Foton tripped Generika-Ayala, 25-19, 25-16, 23-25, 26-24.

The Tornadoes overpowered the Lifesavers with 52 kills against 40 as they posted their second win in three matches. Generika-Ayala fell to 1-1.