No AFC sweep as Super Spikers take down High Speed Hitters
Erika Santos and Gel Cayuna again rose to the occasion and led Cignal in pinning another heartbreak on PLDT.
With Santos pouring in 17 points and Cayuna masterfully orchestrating the offense, Cignal shattered the outright semifinal hopes of erstwhile-unbeaten PLDT by dealing its sister team a first defeat, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23, in the PVL All-Filipino Conference eliminations on Tuesday at FilOil Centre in San Juan City.
More than going up against her first pro team, Santos is motivated to step up big-time against champion teams.
“For me, nothing extra. It’s actually nice competing against taller players. It motivates us to learn more and really want to win,” said Santos in Filipino after the squad bounced back from a loss to Nxled, the team’s first setback this conference. “Everyone really [played with] heart, and that’s why the outcome turned out great.
“I think what really stayed with me was our last game. I’m naturally competitive. I don’t like losing just like that,” she went on. “So that really pushed me. I saw how everyone changed, how we really bounced back and fixed our mindset.”
Cayuna, who finished with 18 excellent sets on top of nine points and five digs, said the Super Spikers continue to play every game with the mindset of having nothing to lose, and obviously, everything to gain.
“We had nothing to lose. Whatever we have, that’s what we’re going to give,” she said. “We draw strength from each other. We really work on that in training.”
Cignal now leads the tournament with a 4-1 card, as PLDT dropped into a share of second with Creamline at 3-1.
Super Spikers coach Shaq Delos Santos praised his wards for stepping up when it mattered most as they asserted their mastery of the High Speed Hitters, which dates back to last year’s Reinforced Conference when they snapped PLDT’s 15-game winning streak with a straight-sets win.
“It’s about how we compete, especially against a champion team,” Delos Santos said, also in Filipino. “They’re champions for a reason. We respect their players and their coaching staff, so we really had to go all out because we wanted to win.
“But we knew it was going to be tough. We know that when they decide to play at full level, it’s really hard to beat them,” he continued in praise of the High Speed Hitters.
