MANILA – F2 Logistics Cargo Movers-Philippines pulled off a huge upset over Australia National Team 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16 in the 2018 Sealect Tuna Women’s Volleyball Championship in Sisaket, Thailand.
Ilongga Aby Maraño, Ara Galang, Kim Dy, and Mary Joy Baron came up with huge games for the Philippine squad, which was set to face PEA Sisaket squad of Thailand in the semifinals late Saturday.
From a 15-all score early in the first set Friday night, Cargo Movers slowly pulled away 20-15 on hits by Maraño and Kim Fajardo. Australia rallied to within 19-22 but 3 straight points from Baron, Fajardo and Dy closed the set for Cargo Movers.
After losing the second set, Cargo Movers opened the third set with a 16-11 lead with consecutive points from Dy. The lead grew further to 6 with hits from Maraño, Galang and Baron.
Cargo Movers started the fourth set with a 9-4 lead on shots by Dy. Australia rallied to within 3 points several times but Cargo Movers relied on Maraño and Cha Cruz-Behag to pull away for good.
Cargo Movers – bouncing back from a 25-22, 15-25, 23-25, 16-25 loss to Khonkaen All Stars VC last Wednesday – became the second Philippine team to reach the semifinals of the annual tournament.
The Philippine Superliga All Stars bagged the third-place trophy in the tournament last year when it defeated Khonkaen Star Volleyball Club 25-18, 25-22, 32-34, 25-22./PN
