MANILA – Petron Blaze Spikers and F2 Logistics Cargo Movers will face each other anew in the finals of the 2018 Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.
The Blaze Spikers got a chance to defend their title after a near-perfect performance to take down Cignal HD Spikers in straight sets 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 in the semifinal round Tuesday.
Negrense Bernadeth Pons anchored the offense with 14 points while Ilongga Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Mika Reyes chipped in 9 markers apiece for the Blaze Spikers.
“Happy kami na makapasok sa finals. But of course championship talaga ang goal so alam namin na hindi pa kami tapos sa larong ito. Kahit gaano naman kaganda ang laro namin, ibang usapan na sa finals,” said Blaze Spikers head coach Ceseal delos Santos.
The Blaze Spikers were dominant almost the entire match that the HD Spikers were only able to rattle the defending champions in the second set. Petron did most of its damage in the service area with seven aces while forcing Cignal to 22 miscues.
On the other hand, the Cargo Movers survived a gritty stand by first-round tormentors Generika-Ayala Lifesavers before escaping with a 21-25, 25-15, 25-20, 19-25, 15-5 victory.
Cha Cruz-Behag turned back the clock with 17 points, including 17 attacks, while Ilongga Aby Maraño and Ara Galang had 16 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Cargo Movers.
After splitting the first four sets with the Lifesavers, the Cargo Movers banked on their experience as they opened the fifth set with an 8-2 lead. The advantage grew further to 10 points as Generika committed error after error.
This will be the fifth time that the Blaze Spikers and the Cargo Movers are facing each other in the finals. Each of Petron and F2 Logistics won twice in their four previous finals encounters./PN
