After almost a three-year wait, Cignal finally got the chance to kickstart its Spikers' Turf Open Conference title-retention bid, taking a 25-17, 25-15, 25-22 victory over Sta. Rosa City, Tuesday at the Paco Arena.
The win extends the HD Spikers’ winning streak to 14 games. They last lost a game in the 2019 Reinforced Conference semifinals against Sta. Elena.
Cignal showcased a balanced offensive attack led by JP Bugaoan with eight points on five attacks and three kill blocks. Marck Espejo added seven points while Wendel Miguel as the HD Spikers needed an hour and 38 minutes to fend off the young Lions.
“For almost three years na walang liga, sobrang challenging para sa aming mga coaches, sa mga players kasi sobrang uncertain kung meron ba talagang men’s volleyball,” said HD Spikers head coach Dexter Clamor, who steered the Cignal to the Reinforced and Open Conference titles in 2019.
“Sobrang happy kami na finally, after almost three years meron na ulit men’s volleyball. Nagpapasalamat kami sa organizers na pinagtiyagaan na magkaroon tayo ulit ng men’s volleyball,” he added.
Down by a solitary point in the third frame, Edmar Bonono converted one against two blockers to tie the game at 22-all. Jade Disquitado failed to get the ball over in the following play and was called for a net violation right after which placed the HD Spikers at match point.
Bonono, who scored all of his four points in the third set, finished what he started and delivered the kill that gave Cignal its first win in the 2022 Open Conference.
Despite losing in three sets, Sta. Rosa showed that it can keep up with Cignal, especially in the opening set where they forced a 14-all that the Rex Intal-led HD Spikers immediately erased by way of a 9-2 rally, 23-16. From there, the reigning champions did not have to do much as the Lions committed two consecutive errors to surrender the set.
Already aware of Sta. Rosa’s capabilities, Cignal turned it up a notch in the second set and claimed an early 8-3 lead. The Lions were able to trim the lead to three, 8-11, but Espejo answered back and helped the HD Spikers mount a 14-7 blast to take a 2-0 set advantage.
Disquitado led the way for the ASEAN School Games-bound Sta. Rosa with 14 points built on 13 attacks laced with six excellent receptions and five excellent digs. Chris Hernandez supplied 10 points while Kris Hernandez added six markers.
Cignal will next face Army on Saturday at 2:30 PM while Sta. Rosa looks to bounce back against VNS-One Alicia later that day at 5:30 PM.
