Cignal’s Ysay Marasigan in the 2022 Spikers Turf. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Ysay Marasigan lifted Cignal closer to the 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference semifinals after dealing the erstwhile-unbeaten VNS-One Alicia its first defeat, 25-22, 25-20, 26-24, on Thursday at Paco Arena.
Marasigan, the HD Spikers captain, unloaded 14 points built on 12 attacks, one block, and an ace to keep his squad undefeated in three games — just a win away from gaining a semis berth.
Marck Espejo finished with eight points, hitting seven of his 15 spike attempts as he played sparingly in the third set, where Cignal head coach Dexter Clamor tried a different rotation.
“Our reserves played in the third set and they showed that they are ready to deliver. We were a bit rattled in the crucial part of the end game. But we showed that we play as one. We communicated to each other, every move inside the court is coordinated for our attacks and defense to be effective,” said Marasigan in Filipino.
The HD Spikers squandered a 20-15 lead in the third as Ben San Andres sparked the Griffins to tie the frame, 20-all, before Kevin Montemayor’s attack and Jan Frederick Mangulabnan’s big block pushed VNS on the brink of extending the match with a set point advantage, 24-22.
Cignal HD Spikers in the 2022 Spikers Turf. –PVL PHOTO
Marasigan and Edmar Bonono came to the rescue, forcing a deuce, 24-all before San Andres committed back-to-back attack errors to hand Cignal’s 16th straight victory — dating back to 2019 Reinforced Conference semifinals.
“It all boils down to the team with the strongest heart. I’m glad we performed well despite being a bit rattled in the latter part of the game. But what’s important is how my players ended the game,” said Clamor in Filipino after overcoming their 31 errors.
JP Bugaoan scored six points playing only in the first two sets, as all of Cignal’s spikers and middle blockers contributed at least two points.
The HD Spikers seek to officially book their semis ticket when they take on Navy (1-1) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
VNS-One Alicia dropped to solo third with a 2-1 record as it missed national team middle blocker Kim Malabunga, who suffered a right ankle sprain in their five-set victory over Sta. Rosa last Saturday.
Montemayor led the Griffins with 13 points, while San Andres had nine points and nine excellent receptions.
VNS tries to bounce back against unbeaten Sta. Elena (2-0) also on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.