Petron overwhelms Meralco, gains semis
Reigning champion Petron rallied behind Brazilian import Rupia Inck and held off Meralco, 27-25, 25-20, 25-21, to clinch the first semis seat in the 2015 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan.
Inck dished out another solid performance, scoring 14 kills and two aces to finish with 17 points while Dindin Manabat chipped in 12 markers for Petron, which is finally on target to nail down its third consecutive title after a slow start.
Foton toughened up on defense in the fourth quarter as it hacked out a 25-14, 25-22, 18-25, 25-18 decision over Philips Gold in the first game.
The Tornadoes notched their fourth win against three losses for fourth behind Petron (6-2) and Cignal (5-2) and Philips Gold (4-2).
Based on the tournament format, the top four will advance to the semis while the bottom two will clash in the classification battle. The top seed will face the fourth placer while the second seed will clash with the third placer in the next round.
“We’re already in the semis, but we still need to strive hard and win our remaining games,” said Petron coach George Pascua, noting that they will still treat their upcoming games against contenders Foton and Philips Gold as a championship match.
“I told them that we have to treat our opponents equally. Even if we face a weak team, we still have to give our best and challenge every opportunity and play each match as if everything is on the line.”
The Tornadoes came out strong off a week-long rest but slowed down in the third before putting their act together in the fourth to thwart the Lady Slammers and notch their third consecutive win and fourth overall.
After a so-so start, Christina Alessi finally made her presence felt as she knocked down 11 markers to lead Meralco, which needs to sweep its four remaining games to remain in contention. The Power Spikers fell to 0-6. “It’s a big morale-boost for us,” said Foton coach Villet Ponce-de Leon, whose wards also defeated erstwhile pacesetter Cignal and RC Cola-Air Force.
“What is important is that we’re not only enjoying outside, but we’re also enjoying inside the playing court. We will treat each game as if it is our last and our opponents equally regardless of their standings,” Ponce-de Leon added.
Jaja Santiago delivered 18 points highlighted by three blocks and four aces to help American imports Lindsay Stalzer and Katie Messing who registered 17 points apiece.
Playmaker Ivy Perez was also impressive with 23 of the Tornadoes 29 excellent sets to completely outplay Philips Gold’s Fil-Am setter Lindsay Dowd, who had only 14 sets.
After going cold in the third set, the Tornadoes came through with some defensive gems in the fourth set with Santiago, Messing and Stalzer forming a triple tower upfront.
From a 14-all count, Foton’s defensive wall left Philips Gold hitters Bojana Todorovic, Myla Pablo and Michelle Gumabao sputter in the attack zone, giving the Tornadoes a 23-18 edge.