THERE were a few cobwebs Cignal needed to shake off to start its semifinal run.
The Super Spikers dropped a tight first set, 23-25, to Farm Fresh before taking control the rest of the way, winning the next three frames by double-digit margins.
It was a sluggish start that head coach Shaq delos Santos partly attributed to their 15-day break since their five-set qualifying win over Creamline.
READ: By playing selfless volleyball, Cignal sustains PVL AFC rise
“I think merong factor pero ‘di naman sobrang laki,” he said.
“Pagbalik nga namin sa training, medyo ganun din na medyo mabagal kami sa galawan namin.”
Still, the response mattered more.
“Good thing kasi, kaya nakaka-proud ‘yung team dahil kapag gusto nila talagang gamitin kung anong meron kami, alam namin na pwede at kaya,” he added.
Finest of margins
In a single round-robin semifinal, even the smallest differentials in game and set wins can spell the difference between a finals berth and a spot in the third-place game.
For Vanie Gandler, though, dwelling on that pressure does more harm than good.
“It’s very pressuring, of course, kasi it’s like one kill, you die,” she said.
“We don’t really focus on that, on the result. We focus on what we need to do now. We just try to do everything we could do to prepare well, and then not really give ourselves much pressure on the outcome of the game.”
Because in this format, nothing is guaranteed.
“Bawal kang maging complacent kasi kahit may win ka, hindi basta-bastang makaka-assure ka du’n sa spot mo sa final,” added Erika Santos.
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