Shopinas clicks in Super Liga debut, tames Mane n Tail

MANILA, Philippines -- Shopinas debuted with a bang as it turned back a stubborn Mane N' Tail, 25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14, to jumpstart its campaign in the 2015 Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference at the Alonte Sports Complex in Binan, Laguna.

Kim Kianna Dy, a La Salle standout, played a superb all-around game as she fired a match-best 17 hits, 10 of coming from kills, four on blocks and three on service aces to help propel the Lady Clickers to their first ever win in this fledgling league.

Stephanie Mercado, a former Lady Archer who is the daughter of former Asian sprint queen Lydia de Vega-Mercado, cattered 10 while Arianna May Angustia, Charleen Cruz, Michelle Laborte added nine, eight and eight, respectively.

Shopinas showed some rust though as it needed to overcome a faulty first three sets to get regain their bearing.

After struggling to snatch the first two sets, the Lady Clickers fell into a maze of errors and had no answer to the power-hitting Honey Royce Tubino, a former NCAA MVP, as the Lady Stallions dominated the third set.

But Dy sparked an upsurge in the fourth set when Shopinas blew the match out of reach by shutting down Tubino, who ended up with 14 hits.

Shopinas coach Ramil de Jesus rued their lack of practice time together as the reason for their sluggish start.

"We only practiced three times, that's why we had a tough time in this match," said de Jesus, who steered La Salle to four straight championships a few years back.

"Hopefully, we can log in more practice time for us to get that rhythm."