RC Cola-PAF halts Generika

STO. DOMINGO, Ilocos Sur, Philippines – RC Cola-Air Force checked an impending skid and carved out a 25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 27-25 victory over a feisty Generika side to nail its second win in the women’s division of the 2014 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix presented by Asics at the Sto. Domingo Coliseum here Saturday night.

Emily Brown uncoiled a 22-hit game while Joy Cases backed her up with a solid 21-point game as the Raiders improved to a 2-1 (win-loss) record to stay behind the league-leading Cignal HD Spikers and Petron Blaze Spikers with 2-0 marks.

The solid-spiking tandem of Brown and Cases imposed their will in the first two sets but slowed down in the third and early in the fourth, enabling the Life Savers to threaten and nearly force a deciding set.

But Brown and Cases stepped up again to deliver the key blows as the Raiders averted a late meltdown to escape with the win and stay in contention in the tournament organized by Sports Core with Air 21, My Phone, Via Mare, Mikasa, Mueller Sports Medicine, Healthway Medical, Generika Drugstore, LGR and Jinling Sports as technical partners.

RC Cola coach Rhovyl Verayo said he’s happy his team is starting to gel after a forgettable start.

“We were all shocked when we lost our first game,” said Verayo, the former beach volley star who took over from Clarence Esteban early this month, in Pilipino.

“That’s why we regrouped and studied the plays and tendencies of other teams so we can somehow bounce back from that defeat. Fortunately, it worked. We’re now taking this tournament one game at a time.”

Just when they thought they had heard the last of the Lady Stallions after taking the first two sets, the Raiders found the going tough in the next two as Russian import Natalia Korobkova took over to keep the Life Savers’ in the fight.

“We simply refused to give up,” Verayo said. “We couldn’t receive in the third and fourth sets and Generika was making a run so we decided to tighten up our frontline defense to avoid their Russian import from taking over.”

Korobkova had 31 points for Generika, which dropped to 0-2 with newcomer Mane ‘N Tail.