Heavweights Petron and F2 Logistics seek to arrange another finals duel when they tackle separate foes in the semifinals of the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference today at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.
The Blaze Spikers clash with Cignal at 7 p.m. while the Cargo Movers battle Generika-Ayala at 4:15 p.m. second match of this explosive triple-header bankrolled by Isuzu, Mikasa, Senoh, Asics, Mueller, UCPB Gen and Bizooku with Genius Sports as technical sponsor.
Prior to that, University of Santo Tomas tries to inch closer to the finals of the Collegiate Grand Slam when it tackles University of the East in the 2 p.m. appetizer of this tourney that also has ESPN5, Hyper HD and Aksyon TV as broadcast partners.
After clashing in the past four titular showdowns, both the Blaze Spikers and the Cargo Movers are heavily tipped to make it all the way to the best-of-three finals series after gaining a twice-to-beat advantage in the semis.
The Blaze Spikers finished the preliminaries with a flawless 10-0 mark while the Cargo Movers finished second with an 8-2 win-loss slate to underscore their dominance in the country’s prestigious and competitive women’s club tourney.
In the quarterfinals, Petron made short work of Sta. Lucia, 25-12, 25-14, 25-16, while F2 Logistics crushed Cocolife, 25-12, 25-22, 25-20.
But the semifinals will be a different story.
The Lifesavers are coming in with a lot of confidence after serving as one of the only two teams who scarred the Cargo Movers’ mark in the preliminaries, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 28-26, last Nov. 13.
Generika-Ayala head coach Sherwin Meneses said that victory sparked their campaign and pushed them all the way to their first semifinal appearance in three years.
“It was a major morale-booster for the girls. They realized that they can also win over an elite team like F2 Logistics,” said Meneses, whose crew racked up six consecutive victories since that fateful win.
“We’ll be coming into the semifinals believing that we can win over them again. We already did it before, we will work hard to do it again.”
On the same note, the HD Spikers are also dead serious of stopping the Blaze Spikers in their bid to sweep the entire tournament.
Head coach Edgar Barroga said his team is finally peaking following a giant 26-28, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 win over a heavily-favored Foton side in the quarterfinals.
He said veterans Rachel Anne Daquis and Royse Tubino, as well as the vastly-improved Mylene Paat, are all ready to assert their dominance and frustrate the reigning queens of All-Filipino.
“It will be a tough challenge, but I know with the right preparation and focus, we can pull off a massive win over the reigning champions,” said Barroga, who is eager to neutralize the firepower of Frances Molina, Sisi Rondina, Bernadeth Pons and Aiza Maizo Pontillas.
“Petron is an elite team. We have to play a notch higher than their level if we want to prevail.”