Pascua's 'familiarity' with Cignal key to Sta. Lucia victory
March 9, 2018 | 2:11pm
Sta Lucia Lady Realtors' head coach George Pascua
Philippine Superliga / Roman Prospero
MANILA, Philippines — Sta. Lucia Realty rolled back to the win column following an impressive straight-set conquest of Cignal in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix late Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
It was such a masterful conquest.
Ukrainian import Bohdana Anisova was at her best, firing 26 points while Filipino-American MJ Philips chipped in 16 markers for the Lady Realtors, who forged a tie with Foton and Cignal at the fourth spot with a 2-2 win-loss card.
But for Sta. Lucia head coach George Pascua, the victory should be credited to his deep familiarity with the HD Spikers.
Pascua used to be a savior for the HD Spikers.
After guiding Petron to two crowns and a couple of finals appearances, the former national team star packed his bags for Cignal to join an already explosive crew of Rachel Anne Daquis, Honey Royse Tubino and Jovelyn Gonzaga with Paneng Mercado, Chie Saet, Mylene Paat and Janine Marciano playing supporting role.
He buckled down to work right away and won the Invitational Conference title — the HD Spikers’ first crown since joining the league as one of its pioneer franchises in 2013.
The luck ran out in the All-Filipino Conference as Cignal settled for bronze before completely bombing out in the Grand Prix where it ended up fifth.
Even worst, Gonzaga and Marciano suffered season-ending knee injuries, setting the stage for a massive exodus of key players.
Tubino joined Cocolife while Mercado and Saet bolted out for a new team in the rival league. Paat, for her part, re-joined her university team – Adamson – in the UAAP.
But the biggest name to leave was Pascua.
And now that he’s already with the Lady Realtors, he is using that familiarity to his team’s advantage.
“We didn’t do anything special. We just relied on my familiarity with Cignal,” said Pascua, who was replaced by Edgar Barroga as Cignal tactician.
“I know the players. I know who are we going to target and what will be the strategies against them. I’m glad our game plan worked.”
True enough, the Lady Realtors were two steps ahead of the HD Spikers.
Import Jeane Horton finished with 21 points while Sonja Milanovic had 16 markers, a development that left the locals struggling at the attack zone.
“We had an easy time reading their plays because they are relying on only two scorers,” he said. “It made it easy for us to block and defend them.”
Pascua knows that Cignal will bounce back in their next match.
But for now, he wants to savor the sweetness of their win.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
Philstar
- Latest
- Trending
Trending
Latest
Trending
9 hours ago
9 hours ago
By Bill Velasco | 9 hours ago
By Ralph Edwin Villanueva | 1 day ago
Latest
By Ralph Edwin Villanueva | 17 hours ago
By Joey Villar | 17 hours ago
18 hours ago
By John Bryan Ulanday | 18 hours ago
Recommended
9 hours ago
9 hours ago
9 hours ago
9 hours ago
