Bacoor City—Reigning champion Petron doused cold water on Generika-Ayala’s sizzling streak after pulling off a 25-18, 25-12, 25-16 conquest in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference yesterday at the Bacoor Strike Gym here.
Skipper Frances Molina was at her best, towing the Blaze Spikers to their fifth win in six matches in this prestigious women’s club tourney bankrolled by Team Rebel Sports, SOGO, Eurotel, PCSO, Cocolife, UCPB Gen, Mueller, Senoh, Asics, Bizooku and One Sport.
Molina, the last remaining player from the Petron squad that swept its way to an All-Filipino title in 2015, delivered 10 kills and two aces for 12 points while Sisi Rondina notched eight attacks, two aces and a block for an 11-hit performance.
Former national team skipper Mika Reyes, meanwhile, finished with 10 markers highlighted by four blocks to underscore the Blaze Spikers’ dominance defensively all throughout the match that lasted for 78 minutes.
“We’ve been struggling the past few games, but good thing we’re slowly getting into our real game. Although we’re not yet in our 100 percent, we’re already moving well inside the court,” said Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos.
Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Remy Palma were also instrumental with seven points apiece while Rhea Dimaculangan did a marvelous job setting the plays with 18 excellent sets to compliment the 11 digs and seven excellent receptions by libero Buding Duremdes.
More than that, the Blaze Spikers managed to shut down the attackers of the Lifesavers led by Fiola Ceballos and Patty Orendain.
“They followed our game plan and they stopped Generika’s attackers,” said Delos Santos after the match that also ahs ESPN5 and Kapatid TV5 as broadcast partners.
Angeli Araneta was the lone bright spot with nine markers while the Ceballos and Orendain were very quiet, finishing with only five and two points, respectively.
The Lifesavers fell to solo third with a 4-2 win-loss mark.