HD Spikers survive Cargo Movers for fifth straight triumph

Cignal squeaked past a resilient F2 Logistics crew with a tough 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 26-24 victory on Thursday, Nov. 16, to extend their winning streak to five games in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Veteran spikers Jovelyn Gonzaga and Ces Molina displayed their wide experience in the crunch, firing back-to-back kills that punctuated the victory for the HD Spikers.

The win hiked Cignal’s win-loss record to 6-2 at fourth place while handing F2 Logistics its second consecutive loss for 4-4.

It didn’t come easy, though.

Leaning on a 24-22 matchpoint advantage, Cignal saw F2 Logistics turn to its defense after Molina was double-blocked.

The Cargo Movers refused to give up the fight and followed it up with a Myla Pablo attack, but Gonzaga and Molina were there to save the day to close out the match and avert a deciding fifth set.

“Grabe yung binigay nilang effort sa last two sets, talagang pinagtyagaan nila,” said Cignal coach Shaq Delos Santos.

“Hopefully hindi kami ma-satisfy dito sa fifth straight win namin kay may mabibigat na laro pa kaming pagdadaanan,” he added.

Molina showed MVP performance by pumping in 22 points including 22 attacks, while Gonzaga nailed 15 points highlighted by four blocks.

Vanie Gandler also chipped in 13 points built on 12 kills and once ace while Roselyn Doria and Riri Meneses contributed 12 and 11 points as the HD Spikers overshadowed the efforts of Jolina Dela Cruz for the Cargo Movers.

Dela Cruz exploded for 30 points on 28 hits, one block and one ace, but her efforts went futile as F2 Logistics failed to turn things around in the last two sets.