Powerhouse F2 aims for No. 1
MANILA - Power-house F2 Logistics aims for a firmer hold of the top spot when it clashes with Generika-Ayala to-day in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Action erupts at 7 p.m. following the 4:15 p.m. encounter between Cocolife and Iriga City in this prestigious club league sponsored by Mikasa, Grand Sport, Senoh, Mueller, Rebisco, Island Rose, Cloudfone and UCPB Gen.
Bannered by a pair of powerful imports in Ma-ria Jose Perez of Venezu-ela and Kennedy Bryan of the United States, the Cargo Movers re-main unbeaten follow-ing Foton's sorry loss to rival Petron in this tournament that also has Gerflor and Gold's Gym as technical sponsors and ESPN5 as official broadcast partner.
The Blaze Spikers creamed the reigning champions, 25-21, 25-22, 12-25, 25-20, in a fierce four-set battle that lasted for nearly two hours, be-fore a massive holiday crowd late Tuesday.
Lindsay Stalzer and Hillary Hurley displayed another strong offensive game, finishing with 23 and 20 points, respec-tively, while middle block-ers Mika Reyes and Remy Palma took care of the defense to help Petron sur-vive a 29-point explosion of Serbian Sara Klisura.
With that, the Blaze Spikers took the second spot behind the Cargo Movers with a 5-1 win-loss card while the Tor-nadoes fell to third with a 4-1 mark as the tourney approaches the crucial stretch of the single round eliminations.
After missing the league's first two weeks, the Cargo Movers were off to a sizzling start as they clobbered the Blaze Spikers before prevailing over Sta. Lucia Realty and Cocolife for an im-maculate 3-0 card.
Against the Asset Managers, Perez shone with 17 points while Kim Dy and Bryan chipped in 10 markers for the Cargo Movers, who are in hot pursuit of their first-ever crown in the season-ending conference that is billed as the toughest and most competitive women's volleyball com-petition in the country.
For F2 Logistics head coach Ramil de Jesus, it was their relentless de-fense and good blocking which keyed their victory.
"We had a good net defense," said de Jesus, noting their huge ad-vantage in the blocks department, 9-1, against Cocolife. "I hope we can sustain this good perfor-mance. We're still un-beaten and that's what we want to maintain."
Maintaining their hot streak, however, is easier said than done.
The Lifesavers are also coming off a domi-nant victory over Iriga City, 25-16, 25-15, 25-21, last week.
"It's all about having proper mindset," said Generika-Ayala head coach Francis Vicente, who limited the minutes of import Darlene Ram-din after the Trinidad and Tobago national team player fell ill.