Croatian leads Generika past UST

Games Tomorrow (The Arena, San Juan City) 4:15 p.m. – Petron vs Iriga City 7 p.m. – Cignal vs Sta. Lucia

Generika-Ayala staved off a lastgasp effort by Victoria Sports-University of Santo Tomas to produce a 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 victory yesterday in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at The Arena in San Juan City.

Croatian import Katarina Pilepic fired 22 points built on 18 kills, two blocks and two aces as Generika bounced back from a straight-set loss to F2 Logistics last week and improve to 3-4 for fifth place.

The Lifesavers are half-game behind the Cocolife Asset Managers, who hold fourth spot with an even 3-3 record.

Pilepic made key hits late in the third set as Generika held UST’s bid to extend the match while getting help fellow import Darlene Ramdin and Chloe Cortez.

Cortez and Ramdin combined for 15 points, nine of which came from the former.

Penina Snuka was instrumental in creating scoring chances for the Lifesavers, accounting for 17 of her team’s 26 excellent sets.

Pilepic put Generika a match point, 24-23, with a block before UST committed an error on the return to seal Generika’s triumph.

UST, using the tournament to prepare for the upcoming UAAP season, remained winless after five matches.

Dim Pacres led the Golden Tigresses with 10 points on eight attacks and two aces.

F2 Logistics and Cignal were playing at presstime, with the former seeking to extend its unbeaten run to six games.

The Cargo Movers entered the match as the lone unbeaten team in the competition with wins over Petron, Sta. Lucia, Cocolife, Generika and UST.

Cignal, on the other hand, was hoping to deal F2 its first loss and move inside the top four. The HD Spikers held a 2-3 mark prior to the opening serve.