MANILA, Philippines – Another conference, another Spikers’ Turf crown for the Cignal HD Spikers.
Cignal claimed its third straight Open Conference title after sweeping the Criss Cross King Crunchers, 25-22, 25-16, 28-26, in Game 3 of their best-of-three finals at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, April 6.
“This conference, we had a lot of challenges. So many injuries and internal problems,” said Cignal head coach Dexter Clamor in Filipino.
“The good thing is we were able to resolve these problems right away.”
“This championship is truly a collective effort of everyone,” he added.
After failing to finish off Criss Cross in Game 2 last Friday, April 4, Cignal got off to a sizzling start, leading the King Crunchers the majority of the opening set en route to a 25-22 finish.
Trailing early on in the second, the HD Spikers then unleashed a huge 10-2 run midway through the set for a 15-9 advantage en route to a 2-0 set lead.
After being down most of the third, Cignal once again caught fire late as it erased a 16-20 deficit, tying things up at 23-all off a rejection by Jau Umandal.
With the score still knotted at 26-26 in the nail-biting third, the HD Spikers got to match point after a double-block by Joshua Retamar and Lloyd Josafat on Criss Cross star Marck Espejo.
Steven Rotter — who was named Finals MVP — then sealed the victory and the championship for Cignal with a thunderous backrow hit.
Rotter and Louie Ramirez dropped 15 points apiece to lead Cignal in the scoring department, Retamar orchestrated the HD Spikers’ offense with 24 excellent sets, while Vince Lorenzo tallied 21 excellent receptions.
On the other side, Jude Garcia — who captured his third consecutive MVP award — was the lone double-digit scorer for Criss Cross in the heartbreaking defeat with 12 points. – Rappler.com