Cignal HD provided the opening day sparks as it upended defending Premier Volleyball League champion Chery Tiggo, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18, to join F2 in the early lead in Group A play of the two-pool, Wednesday at the Paco Arena and Sports Center.
Behind the brilliant play of setter Gel Cayuna, the HD Spikers pulled through in a seesaw battle of nerves in the pivotal third set while pouncing on their rivals' erratic service play then built five-point leads in the fourth to thwart the Crossovers' comeback bid and boost their quarterfinal drive in the nine-team tournament.
The defending champions, playing sans top player Jaja Santiago, who is campaigning in Japan, forced a tie at 14 in the fourth but Cayuna went to work again, baffling Chery Tiggo's defense with feeds that got the rest of the team's hitters involved in scoring as they broke away again at 21-17 on three straight drop shots from the comebacking Angeli Araneta and veteran Rachel Ann Daquis.
Jasmine Nabor saved one match point for Chery Tiggo but the Crossovers fumbled with another miscue as top hitter Mylene Paat suffered cramps at the finish, enabling the HD Spikers to clinch the win and send strong signals to the rest of the competing field.
Ces Molina led the way with 16 points off 13 attacks, two aces, and a block along with seven excellent receptions. Daquis added 14 points and 12 digs while Araneta and Meneses provided 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Cayuna dished out 18 excellent sets in her Cignal debut while Jheck Dionela tallied 14 digs and nine receptions.
"Sobrang happy ako sa group na 'to kasi alam nila kung kailan sila dapat mag adjust and alam namin na sobrang dami pa ring kulang kasi nagsisimula pa lang yung laban so kailangan mas mag prepare pa kami nang maayos," said Cignal head coach Shaq delos Santos.
For the Crossovers, Santiago-Manabat finished with 14 points while Paat had 10 points -- all coming from attacks and EJ Laure had nine points and 10 receptions in her professional debut.
Buding Duremdes collected 16 digs and 10 receptions while Jasmine Nabor delivered 26 excellent sets and four points.
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