MANILA – Katherine Bell had an impressive start as Petron Blaze Spikers scored a 25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23 win over Cocolife Asset Managers in Game 1 of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix semifinals at the San Juan Arena.
Tapped to replace injured Hillary Hurley on Tuesday night, Bell spearheaded Blaze Spikers with 27 attacks to finish with 29 points.
The Blaze Spikers took the 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three semifinals series.
Former Most Valuable Player awardee Lindsay Stalzer chipped in 19 kills, two aces and two blocks for 23 hits while Mika Reyes and Frances Molina tallied nine and eight markers, respectively.
“What happened to us in the finals (last year) was a lesson learned,” said Blaze Spikers head coach Ceseal Delos Santos. “We don’t want it to happen again. Despite this win, we will still work hard and polish our lapses in our game.”
The Blaze Spikers were seemed headed to a victory after being up 24-20 in the fourth set but the Asset Managers made a run behind Marta Drpa to come to within 23-24. A conversion by Rhea Dimaculangan ended the match.
Drpa tallied 26 points while Sara Klisura chipped in 18 markers for the Asset Managers, which is looking to make it to the finals for the first time since joining the league last year.
In the second game, defending champion F2 Logistics Cargo Movers moved closer to a return to the championship round following a 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22 victory over Foton Tornadoes.
American reinforcement Kennedy Bryan and Venezuelan import Maria Jose Perez finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Cargo Movers./PN
