THE Cignal HD Spikers showed incredible perseverance, battling from two sets down to defeat the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in a five-set thriller, 24-26, 19-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-11 in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan on Thursday, July 14, 2022.The win gave Cignal the solo lead in the standings. It certainly did not come easy as they blew five set points in the opener and lost, and stared at defeat after being blown off by the Flying Titans’ strong finishing kick in the ensuing set.However, the veteran-laden HD Spikers settled down and regrouped to take the third set before sustaining their momentum in the fourth to tie the match at two-sets apiece. They then beat the young Flying Titans in a clash of nerves, poise and character in the final set.Cignal also squandered a 4-1 lead in the decider and trailed at 5-6 on a Des Cheng hit and block. But the HD Spikers did what they do best, fighting back as setter Gel Cayuna, Ces Molina, Roselyn Doria and Rachel Anne Daquis got their act together to push the team in front at 13-11.Cignal then pounced on their rivals’ miscues to hack out the victory in a whopping two hours and 19 minutes.“We’re thankful (to God) for giving us strength. I also thank the players and coaches (for this win. We fought really hard kahit pagod na lahat,” said Cignal coach Shaq delos Santo.“I told the players we still have the chance to bounce back and we need to stay focused,” delos Santos added.Five HD Spikers came away with double digit outputs to underscore the team’s balanced offensive sock with top gun Molina putting in a 17-hit game, Claudine Troncoso firing 13 points after missing their first match, Ria Meneses finishing with 12 hits and Doria and Daquis adding 11 and 10 points, respectively.Libero Fatima General also produced a solid floor defense that helped keep the ball in play in crucial stretches of the match and eventually save the HD Spikers, matching Daquis’ 18 digs.The Flying Titans slipped to 1-1. The loss also put to naught Kat Tolentino’s fiery 31-point performance although she somewhat lost steam in the fifth, scoring just a block off Daquis that kept the Flying Titans within, 10-11.