Philips Gold tests Cignal’s strength

MANILA, Philippines - After an upset of two-time champion Petron, Cignal battles a dangerous Philips Gold side in the 2015 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament today at The Arena in San Juan.

Action starts at 6:15 p.m. following the highly-anticipated clash between the Blaze Spikers and Meralco in the 4:15 p.m. opening game of this prestigious inter-club tournament presented by Milo with TV5 as its official broadcast partner.

Billed as one of the teams to watch this conference, the HD Spikers pulled an early shocker as they bravely battled from two sets down to clobber the star-studded Blaze Spikers, 18-25, 17-25, 25-16, 25-18, 16-14, on opening day before a roaring crowd at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.

Cignal started out slow before putting the handcuffs on Dindin Manabat, allowing American import Ariel Usher to dominate the game.

Usher, a powerful and charming spiker from Oregon, delivered 29 kills and two blocks to finish with 31 points. But the revelation was a rookie from Bacolod City in Fritz Joy Gallenero, who scored 12 smashes and two blocks for a total of 14 points while also contributing in the non-scoring department with eight digs.

With the win, Cignal formally snapped Petron’s 16-game winning run. The last time the Blaze Spikers lost was on Nov. 26 last year when it surrendered a five-set decision to Generika in the second round of eliminations of the Grand Prix.

“It was a very good game, a total team effort,” said Sammy Acaylar, adding that the victory over Petron means nothing but just a mere motivation for them to play harder. “If we prepared long and hard for this tournament, so are the other teams. Everybody is prepared. We can’t be relaxed at this point. It’s still a very long way to go.”

Cignal’s vaunted strength, however, will be tested against Philips Gold.