BACOOR CITY – Simon Liannes Castaneda delivered the goods as Cignal stunned Generika-Ayala, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20, in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix Tuesday at Bacoor Strike Gym here.
Despite barely having time to dust off the rust after arriving in the country only last Saturday, the Cuban sensation fired 24 kills for 29 points as the HD Spikers got off to a strong start in this prestigious women’s volleyball club league bankrolled by Cocolife, Sogo, Eurotel, Sweet and Fit Stevia, UCPB Gen, Team Rebel Sports and Bizooku.
“Well I’m very happy. Actually, she barely had any sleep, but she did her best for our team,” Cignal coach Edgar Barroga said, referring to the Cuban who landed on their laps after their negotiation with two other imports bogged down.
“She’s a reliable import and I put my complete trust on her.”
The HD Spikers had a rusty start, but they woke up just in time in the second set to get their rhythm going.
“In the first set we were trying to get the right mix of things, then after the first set we looked at our defense pattern,” said Barroga.
“From there we did our adjustments and the result was good.”
Alohi Robins-Hardy also had 14 points while Ranya Musa and Roselyn Doria combined for 13 markers in a match that took almost two hours to finish.
Barroga said winning over a team as solid as the Lifesavers is such a huge morale-booster as they head into a titanic battle with F2 Logistics this weekend.
Cuban reinforcement Elizabeth Vicet Campos finished with 21 points while Eli Soyud had 13 markers for the Lifesavers, who suffered their second straight lost in this tourney that also has Gerflor, Senoh, Asics, Mikasa and Mueller Sports as technical partners.