Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—When F2 Logistics took a 2-0 set lead against Cignal in Game 1 of the Philippine Super Liga All-Filipino Conference, Kalei Mau knew the match was far from over.
The HD Spikers’ path to the finals took two wins over dethroned champion Petron and both of those matches went the full five sets and Mau was just waiting for a Cignal comeback.
Her fears came to reality as the HD Spikers fought back to force a deciding set.
“This is what I expected. At first when we were taking them in the first two sets I was like something’s wrong,” said Mau after F2 held off Cignal, 25-22, 26-24, 25-18, 25-17, 15-8, for a 1-0 finals lead Saturday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “They are not fighting like I expected them to.”
A major reason why Mau thought Cignal was just waiting to burst was her former UVC teammate Alohi Robins-Hardy.
Mau was the star attacker in her previous PSL team while Hardy was her dependable setter and true to her prediction, the playmaker brought forth an onslaught in the third and fourth sets.
Hardy finished with 11 points on top of her 17 excellent sets while Mau had a game-high 27 points.
“I know Alohi was kind of quiet in the first two sets and that wasn’t her. I told my team that ‘hey look they’re going to get beaten in three tonight and they will come harder in the third so we got to play even harder,’” said Mau.
After getting the headstart, Mau wants no letup coming into Game 2 on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“I want it more than anything, the mindset is that it’s ours,” said Mau. “Every opportunity we get, every set I get I’m going to put down because we’re not playing around. This is high-stakes so I’m really excited.”