Philippine Super Liga Day #5 recognitions
I find it hard to believe that five playing days have gone by so fast.
The quarterfinals begin this Sunday (July 21) and thanks to the unique format of the league, all six teams are still in contention for the first ever Philippine Super Liga (PSL) Invitational title, and if you consider the TMS-Philippine Army as the frontrunner for the crown, then you’d probably be getting 1.5-1 for your money. However, Cagayan Valley proved that the Lady Troopers are also human when they beat them on opening day. In short, anything is very possible, especially now that we’re entering the knockout stages.
But before we get hostilities underway this weekend, let’s have another dose of those fictitious awards I like giving out after each gameday. Let’s begin.
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Honey Royse Tubino—Cignal HD
I’m going to be told to get used to this stat line, but it was indeed a special night for Tubino. The Speed Boosters may have picked up a few tips on how to defend against HD Spiker Supreme Venus Bernal from Bingo Milyonaryo—who held her to a mere twelve points on (what I alluded to during a recent broadcast) 12 for 10,000 attempts. It worked early. PLDT MyDSL was able to claim the first set, but I sensed that Royse was starting to figure out the length of Speed Boosters centers Pau Soriano and Gianes Dolar and it was just a matter of time before she cracked it. And boy, did she. 23 points from the 21 year old is not normal, but HD Spikers faithful hope that it could be. If it could be, then Cignal will contend for the championship.
SURPRISE PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Kara Acevedo—Petron
She’s actually experienced two DNP-CDs already in their five outings in the preliminaries. Perhaps I’m just not used to seeing the former UAAP Rookie of the Year ride the bench like she has here at the PSL. Acevedo can thank the traffic jam that held up starting center Maika Ortiz for allowing regular Opposite starter Aiza Maizo-Pontillas to slide into the center position and giving her the opportunity to make some noise at the Utility Spiker slot. Kara lit it up for six points—half of which came in consecutive fashion at a crucial juncture of the second set. The momentum was still in the balance then and Acevedo’s energy transferred the power to the Blaze Spikers en route to the second set triumph. It became all uphill for Cagayan Valley at that point, thanks to the pleasantly surprising performance by Acevedo.
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SECOND STRING STAR OF THE DAY: Nene Bautsita—TMS-Philippine Army
She only scored five points coming off the bench in the win against Bingo Milyonaryo, but more than the stats was why Bautista did not start: she gave up her Utility Spiker role to allow debuting Jovelyn Gonzaga to immediately showcase her skills on centerstage. Nene is the consummate professional and is one of the few remaining players around who does not even entertain thoughts of having an ego. Maybe it’s because she was born and raised in Iloilo; where Ilonggos are said to be more conservative and passive. But it didn’t appear that she was forced out of the position. If you know Nene Bautista, you’d know that the team always comes first. She was moonlighting at that Utility Spiker spot (her real position is Open-Spiker, as you all know) and since a legit star whose natural position is Utility-Spiker (Gonzaga is a lefty) has now joined the squad, Bautista chose to give her starting spot up. They did play together later on, but the outcome was almost well decided by then.
OVERACHIEVER OF THE DAY: Gianes Dolar—PLDT MyDSL
This is positive sign moving forward for PLDT MyDSL Head Coach Francis Vicente as the team struggles in its cohesion efforts. Pau Soriano is the front-center star of the team, that’s a given. Vicente had to juggle both Dolar and Wenneth Eulalio to see who could mesh with the powerhouse line-up of the Speed Boosters. Dolar, a former stalwart at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod, looked very comfortable up front and even did a decent job in trying to contain the red-hot Tubino in their loss against the HD Spikers. The big bonuses for PLDT MyDSL was when Dolar began attacking, and it was clear that she had a knack for finding holes in opponents defenses; something that made her so valuable for Roger Banzuela and the Lady Stingers program. That’s probably why Dolar has been getting the start ahead of Eulalio lately. Dolar’s eight points (inclusive of two block points against Tubino) gives Vicente something bigger to look forward to against the Rising Suns this Sunday.
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DNP-CD WONDER OF THE DAY: Leuseht Dawis—PLDT MyDSL
It came to a point in that match that Vicente was about to declare “all hands on deck”. He almost did, but opted to keep the reigning captain of the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in the freezer. Yes, Cha Moralde held her own in the Utility-Spiker spot for the Speed Boosters, but Dawis has an abundance of height over Moralde—and perhaps even a bit more experience points against the opposition they were up against. I’ve never seen Leuseht benched before. Maybe it was a disciplinary action (some coaches have a strict code of conduct, which includes penalizing tardiness among others) or maybe it was just Vicente’s decision to stick with Moralde throughout the entire match. They lost. Maybe a Dawis sighting in the quarterfinals might just help the Speed Boosters in their quest for the semifinals.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY: Best Players at the end of the Preliminaries (according to the stats)
Just when you thought Venus Bernal is already a shoo-in for the MVP trophy, guess again. While the league has not released—at least to me—the official numbers on points, attacks, blocks , etc., they did provide a few percentage stats that show which player is leading—percentage-wise—in some important categories. Bernal’s name is not on the top three of any list. Unbelievable? Check these out:
PSL Rankings (as of the end of the preliminaries)
Spiking
1. Tubino, Honey Royse (36.6—success %)
2. Soriano, Ma. Paulina (35%)
3. Bunag, Joanne (33.33%)
Blocking
1. Soriano, Ma. Paulina (62—success %)
2. Ortiz, Maika Angela (50%)
3. Laborte, Michelle (50%)
Serving
1. De Los Santos, Sandra (62—success %)
2. Alarca, Jacqueline (50%)
3. Saet, Reiea Ferina (45%)
Digging
1. Reyes, Jennilyn (4.33—Average by set)
2. Dionela, Angelique (4.19)
3. Gata-Pantone, Lizlee Ann (3.48)
Setting
1. Argarin, Arriane (9.17—Average by set)
2. Semana, Wendy Ann (8.86)
3. Salak, Cristina (8.85)
Receiving
1. Dionela, Angelique (41.56—success %)
2. Reyes, Jennilyn (40.14)
3. Gata-Pantone, Lizlee Ann (35.71)
I don’t see Bernal here. Maybe they base it on something else, perhaps?
HIGHLIGHT MOMENT OF THE DAY: Jovelyn Gonzaga finally debuts
Finally she plays. There was a lot of excitement generated by the initial inclusion of Gonzaga’s name in the original Cagayan Valley roster; a list that also named Pau Soriano on the team. However, since the TMS-Philippine Army took a chance on signing the crafty 21-year-old lefty even if they knew she’d be gone representing the country in the Universiade Games in Russia (for beach volleyball with Fiola Ceballos), the Lady Troopers exercised extreme patience. They had been adlibbing at the Utility Spiker position with Bautista as regular opposite-hitter Mayeth Carolino is out indefinitely with a torn shoulder tendon. Then on the day Gonzaga was scheduled to arrive from Russia, a hole opened up in the Lady Troopers line-up—under unfortunate circumstances—with the injury to Sha-Sha Siatan-Torres. Gonzaga was immediately placed on the active roster to replace Torres. Now one of the best all-around volleybelles in the archipelago is part of this revolutionary league. Her debut performance against Bingo Milyonaryo netted her seven points on a mere seventeen attack attempts. The rest before the semis will help Gonzaga tremendously as she realigns herself with the Rico de Guzman system. The TMS-Philippine Army is starting to look unbeatable.
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PLAYER OF THE DAY: Aiza Maizo-Pontillas—Petron
An unforeseen turn of events could sometimes lead to a series of happy accidents and that’s what Petron experienced on the last match of the preliminaries against Cagayan Valley. From having a full complement of middle-hitters in their previous win against Bingo Milyonaryo, the Blaze Spikers were down to only one to begin the game against the Rising Suns. When I went up to Head Coach Vilet Ponce de Leon prior to that start of the match, I asked her for her starters. With a quizzical aura, I jotted down her starters and found that Charo Soriano was the only center she had; no Gretchen Ho, no Roxanne Pimentel-So, no Maika Ortiz--yet. She shifted Maizo-Pontillas to center and started Acevedo in the opposite-hitter role. What followed was a happy accident as Maizo-Pontillas completely dominated the Cagayan Valley frontline en route to 20 points and even if regular starter Ortiz had already entered the fray, de Leon opted to sit Soriano and keep Maizo-Pontillas in the middle. Aiza made the most of her opportunities and when the dust settled, Petron had not only won its second straight game, but it also catapulted them to the third seed and a favourable quarterfinal draw against the Puffins who could still be without the services of ace open-hitter Stephanie Mercado on Sunday. Will Coach Vilet assign Maizo-Pontillas to the middle-hitter position again? I doubt it. But at least now it’s an option that can be utilized maybe later on down the line. This just shows the vast amount of talent this former UST Tigress has.
MATCH OF THE DAY: Cignal HD vs. PLDT MyDSL (4 sets)
Despite the four-set finish of this match, the battle between these sister teams was a virtual shoot out. Tubino’s 23 points along with Bernal’s 14 almost cancelled out Pau Soriano and Angela Benting’s 34 combined points. Defense at the net was sparse at best and this allowed both teams to pound each other to submission. It was also a battle of two generations of brilliance in the libero position as Lizlee Ann Gata-Pantone—the former undisputed queen of the floor patrol faced off against Jen Reyes—arguably the best in the country today. Reyes won the digging war—17 exceelent digs to 13 of Gata-Pantone, but the former Adamson libero claimed the reception title—22 excellent receptions to only 13 from Reyes. Yet both teams combined for 189 points, which is on the high-side for a four-setter. In the end, Tubino’s aggression paid off as the Speed Boosters could not contain her firepower. But it was a slugfest that you’d expect between two teams whose bosses had to occupy the centerline seats, as they couldn’t decide who to cheer for.
PHOTO CAPTION OPPORTUNITY OF THE DAY
I’d like to give May Macatuno some earphones while she’s in this pose, because she looks like she’s about to do some aerobics. What do you think? In the comments box, begin your post with PHOTO CAPTION ANSWER and then your witty comment.
It’s quarterfinals time, guys. So who are you pulling for?
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
