Embattled Cignal blew hot and cold, then hot again when it mattered most, hacking out a tough 25-14, 25-11, 19-25, 17-25, 15-11 decision over Choco Mucho to keep its slim semifinal hopes alive in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Thursday.
With a 2-4 slate, Cignal remained at seventh but the victory should fire the HD Spikers up as they go for a sweep of their last two elims games against the PLDT High Speed Hitters on March 11 and the Army Lady Troopers on March 16 for a possible shot at the last semis berth.
Choco Mucho, meanwhile, slipped to 2-3 at sixth but the two struggling teams stood just behind fourth-running Chery Tiggo (3-2) and No. 5 Petro Gazz (2-2), which is playing with F2 Logistics (4-1) at presstime.
“Lagi namin nire-remind sa team na gusto namin ito. Talagang nag-work kami as a team. Pinagsama namin lahat ng talent naming at nandun yung eagerness na makabalik kami,” said Daquis, who proved clutch for the nth time in a checkered career, ramming a down-the-line hit that halted the Flying Titans’ rally and put the team at match point, 14-11.
The Flying Titans then cracked under pressure, failing to set up a clear attack that led to Daquis’ dink that wrapped up the near-two-hour encounter that featured a couple of long, fierce exchanges in the fifth.
The last led to a Chery Nunag putaway that pulled Choco Mucho back to within two, 11-13. But HD Spikers kept their nerves in check with Daquis taking over to deliver the clutch points.
She and Ces Molina ended up with 17 points apiece with the former clinching the game’s top honors with three blocks and 10 excellent digs while Chai Troncoso and Roselyn Doria matched 15-point outputs and middle Riri Meneses added 10 markers in a balanced offense missing in Cignal’s previous games.
It was a sorry loss for Choco Mucho, which battled back from two lopsided set losses with big victories in the next two frames. But they wavered midway in the fifth after Des Cheng scored on an off-the-block hit that ended a long rally of attacks and digs and put the Flying Titans within, 5-6.
But Molina fired a through-the-block hit and after a Jerilli Malabanan service miscue, the HD Spikers racked up three straight points off a kill block, an easy hit off a mis-receive and another Molina kill for a 10-6 count.
“We’re very thankful to the Lord, lahat ng challenges namin, nandiyan sya,” said Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos. “We know na magiging matindi yung labanan dahil alam din namin gumalaw ang Choco Mucho. Good thing is na-maintain naming yung good attitude.”
Isa Molde and Kat Tolentino shared scoring honors for Choco Mucho with 17 points apiece while Cheng added 14 markers and Maika Ortiz chipped on seven points, mostly on running plays.
