Air Force, Cignal brace for Spikers' Turf ‘rubber’

MANILA, Philippines - Air Force and Cignal gear up for what promises to be a classic face-off between the league’s top spiking teams as they dispute the Spikers’ Turf Season 1-Reinforced Conference crown in a winner-take-all match at The Arena in San Juan City on Sunday.

Both teams have emphasized the need to toughen up on their defense given both sides’ spiking prowess with the HD Spikers shackling the vaunted Air Force hitters to score a series-tying 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 victory in Game Two last week.

“We really need to improve more on our defense since we’ve been relying too much on our libero (Sandy Montero),” said Cignal HD coach Michael Carino.

The HD Spikers did slow down Airmen’s Jeffry Malabanan, who wound up with just 10 points after scoring 17 in their 25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19 triumph in the opener of the best-of-three series in the season-ending conference of the pioneering men’s league presented by PLDT Home Ultera.

Cignal HD also held Rodolfo Labrador, Reyson Fuentes and Ruben Inaudito to a combined 18-point output in Game Two after the troika scored 34 together in Game One.

Herschel Ramos bounced back from a dismal four-hit performance in the opener with an 11-point effort in Game Two, including six blocks to anchor Cignal’s victory and underscore the HD Spikers’ solid net defense.

“We’re a bit lousy in Game One that’s why we made some adjustments in our attacks and blocking,” said Carino.

But the long break to the rubbermatch should give Air Force coach Rhovyl Verayo and his wards enough time to make their own corrections, particularly in quick sets, combination plays and blocking, ensuring a slam-bang Game Three tipped to go down-to-the-wire.

Gametime is at 5 p.m. following Game Two of the PLDT Home Ultera-Army title duel in the Shakey’s V-League, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

The Ultra Fast Hitters rallied to edge the Lady Troopers in a thriller of a five-setter, 16-25, 20-25, 26-24, 29-27, 18-16, last Saturday to likewise gain a 1-0 lead in their side of the best-of-three.