Lady Troopers, Cargo Movers complete Superliga semis cast

MANILA, Philippines – RC Cola-Army weathered a spirited Generika fightback and hacked out a 25-20, 25-19, 25-19 victory in the playoffs last night to advance to the semifinal round of the Asics Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix presented by PLDT Home Ultera at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Import Hailie Ripley stepped up in the clutch and bailed the Lady Troopers out of trouble with her crucial hits as RC Cola-Army arranged a sudden death duel with top seed Foton in the semis.

RC Cola-Army assistant coach Rico de Guzman, who subbed for head coach Kungfu Reyes, admitted that they paid special attention on the development of Ripley and Holst.

“We don’t have problem on offense. Our problem is the footwork of our imports as well as our blocking and reception. So, we focused on those areas,” said De Guzman, who guided the Lady Troopers to three straight titles in the league’s inaugural season.

Ripley delivered a kill for the match point followed by a running attack off a set up by Sarah Jane Gonzales to formally send RC Cola-Army back to the semis.

Polina Liutikova registered 10 hits while Ria Meneses and Darlene Ramdin tallied nine markers apiece for the Lifesavers, who were relegated to the battle for fifth place against Cignal.

In the nightcap, F2 Logistics took it slow before going for the kill in the fourth set to smother Cignal, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 25-10, and formally complete the semifinal cast.

The Cargo Movers will face second seed Petron.

Semifinal matches are set this Saturday at the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation in Legazpi City.

Sydney Kemper had 18 points while Hayley Spelman finished with 17 markers for the Cargo Movers, who collapsed in the third set but bounced back with a 13-2 lead in the deciding set en route to a huge 22-6 advantage.

“We lost focus on the third set. Fortunately, the girls came back strong on the fourth,” said F2 Logistics coach Ramil de Jesus, who is looking to come up with a fitting followup to their title conquest in the All-Filipino Conference.