Reversals mark Superliga opener
Gilligan’s bets Danika Gendrauli and Norie Jane Diaz stunned fancied Cignal HD Spikers A aces Cha Cruz and Micmic Laborte, 21-15, 21-13, to kick off hostilities in the PLDT Home DSL-Philippine Superliga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup 2015 powered by Smart Live More yesterday at Sands By the Bay in SM Mall of Asia.
The Sisig Queens utilized their well-placed shots and good coverage to frustrate the Cruz-Laborte tandem, one of the favorites in the Pool D of the women’s division.
“Tiwala lang at teamwork sa loob (We just trusted ourselves and played as a team),” said Cebu pride Gendrauli. “Hindi naman kami katangkaran kaya ang ginawa namin placing lang, more on spin shots (Since we’re not that tall, we just leaned on placing and spin shots).”
Gendrauli scored four straight points to end the first set to Gilligan’s favor and then they raced to a 17-10 cushion in the second to set the stage for the straight-set win. Diaz punched in 11 points while Gendrauli added 10.
Upset was the order of the day in tough Pool D as the Foton Hurricane duo of Bea Tan and Pau Soriano later pulled the rug from under Petron Sprint 4T’s Fille Cayetano and Alexa Micek, 21-19, 21-14.
Tan and Soriano pounced on two hitting errors by their favored rivals in the last few sequences of their first frame to gain a 1-0 upperhand. They used pinpoint hits to break away from a 14-12 count in the second to complete the reversal.
“We competed in a mini tournament, where we played with men prior to this. It helped us gain experience that hopefully will serve us well here,” said Tan who matched Soriano’s 12 markers in this straight-sets romp.
Sister team Foton Tornadoes, represented by Fiola Ceballos and Patty Orendain, hurled its opening assignment in Pool C, nipping Beneco’s Cindy Benitez and Florence May Madulid, 21-9, 21-18.
In Pool A, Samantha Dawson and Marleen Cortel of Amy’s Kitchen beat Evangeline Pastor and Kim Jhovezel Ygay of Accel Quantum Plus-A Perpetual Molino, 21-7, 21-13.
Meanwhile, Asian Beach Games veteran Edward Bonono and Sandy Montero of Cignal HD Spikers A and Champion Infinity A’s Angelo Espiritu and Nestor Molate scored identical twinkills in Pool A of the men’s division.