GENERIKA refused to be remembered as the only team to be beaten by the winless Amy’s Kitchen, as the Life Savers bucked a lethargic start and surged for a 24-26, 25-13, 25-19, 25-14 victory to inch closer for a fifth spot in the 2016 Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Life Savers, who played without their Head Coach Francis Vicente and Assistant Coach Mayie Pronchina, notched their second straight win in the second round to clinch the battle for fifth place in the interclub tournament bankrolled by KLab Cyscorpions, Mueller, Asics and Mikasa with TV5 as official broadcast partner.
Generika is currently leading the bottom four with a 2-0 win-loss card and will try to sweep the second round today against Standard Insurance-Navy, which was also eyeing its second win against Cignal late Saturday. After the second round, the Life Savers will still have another match for the fifth-place finish depending on the result of the Cignal and Standard Insurance-Navy game.
University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses Chloe Cortez and Ria Meneses led the charge for Generika. Cortez topped all scorers with 17 points on 13 attacks, two service aces and two blocks, including eight digs, while Meneses scattered 12 attacks, two blocks and an ace for 15 points. De La Salle standout Wensh Tiu added 11 markers, while skipper Rubie de Leon paced the team with 23 excellent sets.
“‘Yun ang sinasabi namin kanina sa mga players, OK lang magkaroon sila ng kumpiyansa huwag lang sobra,” Generika Coach Jeffrey Drio said. “Kasi ’yun ang nagiging sakit minsan ng mga players ’pag alam nilang kaya nila kalaban nila, so ang nagiging resulta natatalo sa isang set.”
“Kaya ang ine-emphasize namin sa mga players, kahit kaya ang kalaban, dapat ibigay nila best nila para hindi makakuha ng momentum ang kalaban. Kasi once na makakuha ng momentum ang kalaban, ‘yun ang pinakamahirap talunin,” Drio added.
Generika had a lethargic start allowing Amy’s Kitchen to take the first set but the Life Savers got their form back and took the next three sets to wrap up the game in 93 minutes.
Amy’s Spikers remained winless after three matches in the second round but they have a last chance to end their stint with a win in the battle for seventh place.