Generika blasts Cignal minus injured import

MANILA, Philippines — Generika-Ayala pounced on a crippled Cignal side to fashion out a 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 victory in the penultimate playdate of the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix classification round at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

Imports Darlene Ramdin and Symone Hayden imposed their will as the Lifesavers took control after Cignal reinforcement Sonja Milanovic crashed with a right ankle sprain midway in the first round and never returned.

“Her absence was a major blow (for Cignal),” said Generika-Ayala coach Sherwin Meneses after closing their classification round campaign with a 3-7 card for the seventh spot.

But the Lifesavers will have to beat the second seeded Petron Blaze Spikers twice in the next round to advance to the best-of-three semifinals.

Meanwhile, top seed F2 Logistics will clash with eighth seed Smart; third seed Cocolife will tackle sixth seed Cignal; and fourth seed Foton will face No. 5 Sta. Lucia Realty, all with twice-to-beat edges in the quarterfinals starting tomorrow at the Gen. Trias Sports Center in Gen. Trias City in Cavite.

A member of the Trinidad and Tobago national team, Ramdin delivered 16 of her team-high 17 points from kills while Hayden chipped in 13 attacks and a block to finish with 14 points for the Lifesavers, who took advantage of the HD Spikers’ erratic attacks after Bosnian import Milanovic crashed with a right ankle sprain half of the first set.

“Sonja is legitimate scorer and their top option on offense. Her absence limited their offensive options and gave us good opportunities defensively.”

Meneses added that the victory is a morale-booster for them going into the next round against an elite team like Petron.