Cocolife bucked a lethargic start before overcoming the gallant stand of University of the East (UE)-Cherrylume, 22-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-18, in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference yesterday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Despite missing ace libero Denden Lazaro due to a family vacation, the Asset Managers managed to weather the hard-fighting Iron Lady Warriors to gain their first win in Pool B of this prestigious club tourney bankrolled by Isuzu, UCPB Gen and SOGO Hotel with ESPN5, Hyper HD and Aksyon TV as broadcast partners.
After finding themselves down in the fourth set, Juliet Catindig came through with some big hits to help the Iron Lady Warriors trim a 12-19 deficit to 16-20.
But three straight errors doomed UE-Cherrylume's chances, allowing Cocolife to inch closer to set point, 23-16, en route to the victory. Former De La Salle University standout Gyra Barroga proved her worth right in her first semi-pro game as she led Cocolife with 17 points on 12 attacks, four blocks and an ace.
Alex Tan chipped in 15 hits, while Justine Tiu added nine markers, including 18 digs and eight receptions.
"There were mistakes that were not good for my team because the players relaxed a little," Cocolife head coach Moro Branislav said.
"I understand that we are still calculating since it was our first game with my new player but it was an important big win in the new life of Cocolife."
Cocolife squandered a precarious 20-19 lead in the opening set as UE-Cherrylume tied it thrice, 22-all, before an error from skipper Aerieal Patnongon put the Iron Lady Warriors ahead, 23-22, until Abil nailed back-to-back hits to take the first blood.
The Asset Managers bounced back strong in the second set routing the Iron Lady Warriors with a 22-11 spread and never looked back to equalize at one set apiece. They brought their momentum in the third set with a 23-15 lead.
The Iron Lady Warriors, however, never wavered as Abil and Mendrez scored four of their seven straight points to cut it to just one, 23-21, only for Abil to commit a crucial service error before Tan's attack gave Cocolife a 2-1 set lead.
Abil and Mary Anne Mendrez scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for UE-Cherrylume, which only had few hours to recover as it battles defending champion Cignal Tuesday at 7 P.M. following the 2 P.M. match between the Philippine national team and Smart-Army and the 4:15 P.M. battle between Generika-Ayala and Foton at the same San Juan venue.