PSL-AFC Women’s Division: Petron ousts Cignal to end prelims, Argarin injures back
FINAL PRELIMINARY ROUND TEAM STANDINGS (W):
(1-bye) Generika-Army 4-2*
(2-bye) RC Cola-Air Force 4-2*
(3) Petron 4-2*
(4) Air Asia 4-2*
(5) Cagayan Valley 2-4*
(6) PLDT Home Tvolution 2-4*
(7) Cignal HD 1-5
*Ties resolved via quotient system
GAMES ON SUNDAY (July 13th at the Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City)
3:00PM – Women’s QFinals: (3) Petron vs. (6) PLDT Home TVolution
5:00PM – Women’s QFinals: (4) Air Asia vs. (5) Cagayan Valley
7:00 PM – Men’s Prelims: PLDT-Air Force vs. Via Mare
CUNETA ASTRODOME, Pasay City—The Petron Blaze Spikers rebounded from successive setbacks to eliminate two-time finalist Cignal HD 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 and formalize the rankings of the protagonists in the upcoming quarterfinal round of the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) All Filipino Conference here.
Later in the evening—as the scheduled triple-header was delayed due to the late departure of a number of league equipment from Cebu—the Cignal men’s squad topped the hard-fighting Via Mare Voyagers 25-22, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20 to keep a stranglehold of second place in the team standings while Instituto Estetica Manila (IEM) shocked third-running Systema in straight sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-19. The men’s division is a double round robin affair with only the top two teams advancing to the championship match—hence, every game counts, especially those pursuing Cignal as PLDT-Air Force is apparently a lock for the top spot having an unblemished record so far (6-0).
The lone women’s match ushered the end of the prelims and after absorbing crushing defeats against Generika-Army (in straight sets) and Air Asia (in four sets), Petron finally relit the fire that fuelled them to winning their first three matches of the season. But due to the two losses, the best they could achieve is a third place finish with no possibility of a direct seeding into the semifinals.
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Here’s how the final separation came about:
Because of the “sets won-sets lost” category, the Blaze Spikers had no chance of overtaking the RC Cola Raiders in the event of a three way tie for second place (Generika topped the division due to its superior point total). However, they were way ahead of Air Asia in the points ratio and only needed a win that required not more than four sets to claim the number three seed. Had Petron either lost to Cignal or won in five sets, they would have finished fourth.
Many questions were also answered about the mental turmoil of prized rookie Din-Din Santiago after scoring less than twenty points in the two Blaze Spiker losses. The 6’2” pagoda from the National University (NU) bounced back with a game-high 24 points and left no doubt that she is still the leading contender for the MVP race.
Petron also got a big lift from quicker Sandra de los Santos as the former Perpetualite lit up the core of her former collegiate teammates with eleven points, many of which were scored against best buddy Royse Tubino who paced the HD Spikers with 22 markers.
It turned out to be a total team effort by the lasses of Blaze Spikers Head Coach George Pascua as the second unit got unusually long minutes to help support the starters.
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But the sad end to a fruitless campaign for the HD Spikers became even more grizzly as star playmaker and national team regular Arriane Argarin sustained a back injury that caused her to lay motionless on the competition floor for what seemed like an eternity.
With the match entering its twilight in the fourth set, and with Petron up 21-17, Argarin and teammate Jane Diaz both tried to dig a dump shot by de los Santos when the pair collided hip to hip. Diaz—Cignal’s first round draft pick—immediately got up and rejoined the fray as the long rally was still ongoing. But Argarin stayed on the floor face down prompting debuting first referee Bob Malenab to call a halt to the exchange owing to a fallen player.
Initially, it looked like Argarin had been on the ground unconscious and the team trainers rushed to her side. But when she began screaming while not moving, the team trainers summoned for a stretcher to be brought in. Members of the Healthway Medical team converged on the fallen setter and had already brought in the stretcher when they decided to investigate further. Argarin was moving her head and arms but the Healthway personnel were also pinching her in the thighs. I had made it to the court by this team and skipper Michelle Datuin revealed that Argarin had a previous back condition.
“She’s been playing with a slipped disc,” Datuin said, in the vernacular. “The collision must have done something to aggravate it.”
Instantly, memories of former PBA player Migs Noble and his infamous fall filled my mind, but when Argarin began moving her head, relief started to trickle in.
But the Healthway still brought out the back isolator to make sure her back was stable before being moved to the waiting ambulance. However, being face down provided a challenge. They were able to strap her into the back isolator before whipping her right side up. It was the first time since the collision her face was seen and it looked panic-stricken and pale. She was in tears and in obvious pain.
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Ahe was rushed to the Makati Medical Center for X-Rays and as of this writing her condition is still not known. She was scheduled to undergo an MRI, but there is still no news of any findings. All I know is that she is confined in Room #625 and is requesting prayers.
I did join the Healthway team when they were viewing frame-by-frame replays of the collision from various camera angles—through the auspices of the league’s official broadcaster Solar Sports—and saw that it was actually Argarin who carried in most of the momentum before colliding with Diaz and that after the collision, she just stopped moving and lay sprawled face down.
I will make an effort to relay more information by marking this article with an update should I receive new word of her condition, but let’s wish her well. Being a broadcaster for over twenty years now, I’ve seen my fair share of injuries but the way Argarin stayed motionless during a rally is something I haven’t quite seen much of before. I was broadcasting when PLDT Home TVolution’s Charo Soriano tore her ACL in 2009. I was also there when NU’s Aiko Urdas tore hers just about two months ago. Now this.
Let’s hope that it’s just a bruised spine and that we can see the 2013 PSL Best Setter back on the court in no time. She just turned 22 last June. She’s still got a lot of volleyball ahead of her.
BOXSCORES:
(W) Petron def. Cignal – 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19
Petron—Santiago 24, de los Santos 11, Aganon 7, Zapanta 6, Morada 5, Masangkay 4, Cabalsa 4, Reyes (L) 0, Ho 0, del Mundo 0, Tagudin 0.
Cignal—Tubino 22, Diaz 11, Praca 8, Mabbayad 5, Argarin 4, Castañeda 3, Gendrauli 2, Suyat 1, Dionela (L) 0, Datuin 0, Garces 0, Malaluan 0.
(M) Cignal def. Via Mare – 25-22, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20
Cignal—de la Cruz 15, Mojica 14, Sanchez 11, Abria 9, Castel 5, Ablan 4, Daquer 3, Diezmo 2, Lansangan 1, Villonson 1, S. Montero (L) 0, Clamor 0.
Via Mare—G. Ramos 16, Raymundo 13, Hubalde 12, J. Martinez 11, Belgado 6, Cabatingan 2, Paquiz 1, P. Martinez (L) 0, Chuacuco 0, Sagad 0.
(M) Instituto Estetica Manila def. Systema – 25-23, 25-21, 25-19
IEM—Faytaren 13, Conde 10, Jimenez 8, Timbal 7, de la Calzada 5, Arroyo 3, Costa 2, Macalma 2, Almario (L) 0, Justiano (L) 0, Lozada 0, Pascual 0.
Systema—Macasaet 12, Depante 9, Honrade 7, Lee 6, A. Pareja 5, Sto. Tomas 3, Gomez 1, J. Pareja (L) 1, Hu (L) 0, Abdul-Wahab 0, Libay 0, Rojas 0.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
