CIGNAL, boosted by the return of Bryan Bagunas in the roster, drubbed Maverick, 25-20, 25-9, 25-12, to complete a masterful eight-match sweep of the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference eliminations at the Ynares Sports Arena yesterday.

Bagunas dished out a 10-point and four-dig performance in two sets, marking his return after missing the HD Spikers’ last two matches due to prior commitments with his club team in Taiwan.

“Last game namin more on second six yung naglaro medyo hindi maganda yung performance ngayon pinabawi ko sila and they were able to perform better than last game namin,” said Cignal coach Dexter Clamor, referring to the sub-par performances of their second-stringers against VNS-Nasty the last time out.

“Magandang motivation ito for us and yung momentum namin going to semis medyo mataas yung morale namin pero pagdating sa semis back to zero lahat, yung 8-0 magiging useless kung hindi kami magpeperform,” he added.

The straight-set win was also a much-needed turnaround for the HD Spikers, who had gone the distance in their last four matches, needing five sets against Criss Cross, D’Navigators and the Griffins.

Mark Calado topscored for Cignal with 13 points built on 11-of-18 kills while Lloyd Josafat added nine points, also in two sets. Wendel Miguel, JP Bugaoan, and Alfred Valbuena also delivered six points apiece.

Razzel Palisoc paced the Hard Hitters with eight points and five digs while Jerome Cordez chipped in six points as they absorbed their sixth loss against a lone win.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado