Mau scores off Jovelyn Gonzaga. —SHERWIN VARDELEON
Coming out determined against a charged-up foe, F2 Logistics on Tuesday simply didn’t give Cignal a chance.
Kalei Mau was an unrelenting offensive dynamo and the Cargo Movers’ defense was unforgiving till the very end as F2 scored a 25-14, 25-16, 25-19 ripping of the HD Spikers to sweep the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Finals before an animated crowd at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Unlike in the series opener where the Cargo Movers won the first two sets only to be dragged into a five-setter, Mau and the rest of her crew didn’t let this one slip and led the franchise to their fourth league championship overall and their second All-Filipino crown in three years.
It was a lopsided ending very few saw coming, as the HD Spikers harped leading into the second game that they would be bouncing back hard after learning from their mistakes in Game 1.
Instead, the Cargo Movers didn’t budge an inch all match, as Mau spearheaded a charge that was dizzying, to say the least, resulting in the straight sets win.
Fittingly, Mau drilled in the kill from the back row that put the weary HD Spikers out of their miseries and signaled the return of the Cargo Movers as queens of the league once again.
From holding a 12-11 edge in the third set, F2 delivered a backbreaking 6-0 burst capped by Ara Galang’s hit.
Mau conquered all defenses thrown at her and finished with a game-high 19 points, with Kim Kianna Dy adding 13, highlighted by four blocks.
Jovelyn Gonzaga, the hero of the HD Spikers’ magical run from fifth seeds to finalists, had nine points to lead her squad.
It was not the ending that the HD Spikers hoped for, obviously, most especially after dethroning powerhouse Petron in two marathon five-setters in the Final Four.
But it was that great effort in the semifinals that also helped doom Cignal, as most of its big guns fell silent in the title series, having had just a day’s rest before playing Game 1.
Majoy Baron and Ara Galang also played key roles in the title-clinching match as F2 won its first championship since the Invitational Conference last year.
The 6-foot-2 Mau was hailed MVP and Best Scorer, with Baron named the second Best Middle Blocker.
Cignal leader Rachel Anne Daquis was named first Best Outside Spiker.