Returning Bryan Bagunas and the Cignal HD Spikers made quick work of the Maverick Hard Hitters to finish their elimination round campaign undefeated in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
Cignal once again gave Bryan Bagunas a fitting welcome after orchestrating a drubbing of Maverick in straight sets, 25-20, 25-9, 25-12, to sweep the elimination round of the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the Ynares Sports Arena on Friday.
Coming off an All-Star Game stint with Win Streak in Taiwan, the returning Bagunas delivered 10 points, to go along four excellent digs, in two sets of action as the HD Spikers closed the preliminaries with a pristine 8-0 slate.
Mark Calado emerged as the leading scorer with 13 markers, all but two coming from attacks. Lloyd Josafat supplemented nine points, while Wendel Miguel, JP Bugaoan, and Alfred Balbuena scored six apiece.
Jau Umandal, who had a league career-high 36 points last Wednesday, finished with five markers, three of which coming from aces, in two sets played.
Save for brief moments in the opening set, the HD Spikers barely felt any resistance from the Hard Hitters as they mounted insurmountable leads in the last two frames.
Razzel Palisoc paced the losing side with eight points, while Jerome Cordez managed six markers for Maverick, which dropped to 1-6 for joint seventh spot with Air Force.
Cignal now sets its sights on the round-robin semifinals on May 1, Wednesday, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Maverick, on the other hand, aims to finish its campaign on a high when it takes on Richmarc Sports 3B on April 28, Sunday, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.