Lifesavers stun HD Spikers; Power Hitters score

The Power Hitters celebrate after thwarting the Tornadoes —Sherwin Vardeleon

Generika-Ayala scored a morale-boosting win over Cignal while PLDT Home Fibr subdued Foton on Thursday in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Lifesavers needed just three sets to dispose of the HD Spikers, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22, and register their second victory in nine matches.

Kanjana Kuthaisong and Kseniya Kocyigit presided over Generika-Ayala’s steady assault against Cignal, which failed to get its rhythm and slipped to 5-4.

Fiola Ceballos also provided support, firing 14 points, matching the output of Kuthaisong. Kocyigit added 12.

Earlier, PLDT hacked out a 25-16, 27-25, 22-25, 26-24 victory over a Foton team that still cannot catch a break this conference.

Grace Lazard exploded with 25 points, while Kendra Dahlke added 18 for the Power Hitters, who improved to 5-4. Sasa Devanadera and Aiko Urdas contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, for PLDT.

But, as always, PLDT coach Roger Gorayeb was hardly pleased by his charges’ performance.

He was furious after the Power Hitters lost four match points in the fourth following a spate of errors.

“Good thing they were able to recover. It’s good that they displayed composure and showed that they can recover from an ugly loss in the third set,” added Gorayeb.

Foton slumped to its eighth straight defeat despite a new import, Milagros Collar, and the return of Dindin Manabat. Collar had 24 points, while fellow reinforcement Courtney Felinski had 16 for the Tornadoes.