Clash of titans looms
What’s important at this point is what lies ahead of us
Powerhouse Petron and Cignal dispute the No. 1 spot in Pool C when they collide in the Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference today at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Action fires off at 2 p.m. with the HD Spikers staking their clean 5-0 slate against the surging Blaze Spikers, who also have yet to lose in four starts.
Meanwhile, Generika-Ayala tries to stay in contention when it battles dangerous F2 Logistics at 4 p.m. while also-ran Marinerang Pilipina and PLDT Home Fibr tangle for pride in the 6 p.m. main tiff.
Tension and drama are tipped to soar when Cignal and Petron meet anew.
In fact, it was Cignal which foiled Petron’s title run in the All-Filipino Conference last August after emerging victorious in their semifinal showdown, where the Blaze Spikers played with a twice-tobeat advantage.
The HD Spikers then bowed to Cargo Movers in the best-of-three finals series while the Blaze Spikers dominated Foton in the battle for third to settle for the bronze medal.
But Petron head coach Shaq Delos Santos stressed that their misfortune is already a thing of the past and they are now focussed on redeeming themselves by winning the title.
“What happened in the past conference no longer matters to us. What’s important at this point is what lies ahead of us,” said Delos Santos, who will call the shots when the national squad competes in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Cignal coach Edgar Barroga shares the same sentiment, guaranteeing that this battle between two undefeated teams would boil down into a war of attrition.
“I always remind my players to learn a thing or two in our past games,” he said. “But I still always remind them that the present is more important.”
High-flying Sisi Rondina, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Remy Palma are tipped to go hard against the equally seasoned crew of Jovelyn Gonzaga, Rachel Anne Daquis, Mylene Paat and Alohi Robins-Hardy, the Filipino-American playmaker who can play on both ends of the floor.