Cignal’s Rachel Ann Daquis goes for a kill against Sta Lucia’s (from left) Mar-Jana Phillips, Jannine Navarro, and Pam Lastimosa. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon
When the going got tough, Cignal knew who to go to.
Valuable acquisitions Jovelyn Gonzaga and Rachel Anne Daquis did what was expected of them, lifting Cignal past Sta. Lucia Realty, 19-25, 25-18, 25-13, 23-25, 15-12, Thursday in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference.
Newcomer Sta. Lucia put Cignal on its toes all match long, forcing one of the league’s title favorites into a five-setter at FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
“In fairness to Sta. Lucia, they played very well today,” acknowledged Gonzaga who fired 21 points, including three blocks for the HD Spikers.
Daquis scored the winning point, a solo kill-block on Sta. Lucia’s Fil-Am spiker Mar-Jana Phillips, to finish with 14 points.
Cignal barely beat Sta. Lucia in attack points, 47-46, and got their reprieve only because the Lady Realtors committed more errors, 41-35.