BACOOR City — Sta. Lucia bounced back from a previous loss in the Philippine Super Liga Invitational Conference, defeating Cocolife 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25–19, on Thursday at Strike Gym.
MJ Phillips led the way for the Lady Realtors, who improved to 1-1, tied with their victim in Pool B.
Phillips finished with 22 points, from 13 kills, six of the team’s nine blocks and three service aces in the match that took two hours and nine minutes to finish, while Jeanette Villareal also had 10 markers and Jonah Sabete chipped in eight for Sta. Lucia.
Although the Lady Realtors won their first match, coach George Pascua was still looking for a more consistent game from his wards.
“Oo nga eh (nakabawi sa talo) pero andami pang unforced errors na hindi naman dapat. ‘Yung gusto ko pang makita sa players ko yung maturity pa sa laro,” he said.
Sta. Lucia trailed by as many as nine points, 11-20, in the third set before it countered with an 11-3 run capped by Phillips’ back-to-back attacks.
Justine Tiu pushed Cocolife at set point before La Rainne Fabay rejected Phillips’ attack to extend the contest.
Down by two, 10-12, Sta. Lucia cruised to a 7-1 run to take the lead, 17-13, in the fourth set.
Alex Tan’s service ace kept the Asset Managers within striking distance, 16-18, but the Lady Realtors stepped on the gas to end the match.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila don’t stop kasi ang kalaban natin madali basahin ‘yung palo kasi puro open lang kumbaga. Then ‘yun gusto ko ‘yung anticipation nila is nandon minsan nawawala lang sa tamang position,” said Pascua.
Gyra Barroga led Cocolife with 14 points and 16 digs, while Tan and Tiu each had 13 markers.