Capital1 just pulled off an early contender for upset of the season.
The Solar Spikers toppled two-time reigning Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference champions Petro Gazz Angels, 26-24, 25-20, 25-18, on Tuesday, July 23, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Roger Gorayeb-coached squad is coming from a 1-10 performance last All-Filipino Conference, and has fallen earlier in the tourney against Akari, 25-18, 27-25, 22-25, 25-14.
A relatively new team, Gorayeb said he wasn’t expecting to pull off a straight-sets victory against the Brooke Van Sickle-led team — also the heavy favorites to win it all in the import-laden volleyball tilt.
“Masayang masaya ako kasi who would have ever thought na mai-straight [sets] namin. They are always looking at us as a low-level team. Tapos maka-straight set kami ng more experienced team? Malaking bagay sa amin ‘yun, morale booster sa mga bata ‘yun,” Gorayeb said during the postgame interview.
Gorayeb said they prepared really well — and it paid off.
“Nag-prepare talaga kami diyan eh, pero hindi nila ginawa ngayon. But I stuck to our original plan. Naging effective naman kasi ang lakas ng depensa, maski ako nagugulat. Sobrang lakas ng depensa namin,” he said.
“Last time kasi, last game, we were struggling sa counterattack namin. Ngayon ‘di kami nag-struggle kaya masaya ako.”
Russian import Marina Tushova led the Capital1 offense with 24 points on 23 attacks and an ace — the only Solar Spiker in twin-digit territory — to go along with 11 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions.
“We were just starving in the game [to get] the win. We didn’t think about what we were gonna get, win or lose, or you know, we [wanted] to play. We [wanted] to fight and we showed it. Sometimes I want some punch on me. I’m Russian, we work like this,” Tushova said.
Leila Cruz protected the Capital1 floor with 11 excellent digs, while Iris Tonelada steered the offense with 15 excellent sets.
Reigning All-Filipino Most Valuable Player (MVP) Van Sickle paced the defeated side with 19 points on 16 attacks, two blocks and an ace.
Capital1 could bank on this momentum earned from this upset against Cignal HD on Saturday, July 27, while the Petro Gazz Angels could bounce back versus Akari on the same game date. (ABS-CBN News)