PETRON staved off stubborn Foton, 25-12, 25-10, 25-23, to advance to the semifinals unscathed in the Belo-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference on Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan City.
Veteran Aiza Maizo-Pontillas stepped up and Mina Aganon sparkled at crunch time for the Blaze Spikers who coasted to their fourth straight victory in the women’s club tourney bankrolled by Senoh, Mikasa, Asics and Mueller with TV5 as official broadcast partner.
Maizo-Pontillas, a member of the 25-member national pool, made 10 attacks for a game-high 11 points while Aganon finished with eight points she highlighted with a booming kill in the third set when Foton made a last-ditch stand.
Petron would be joined by two other teams in the finals, including a guest team from the Kobe Shinwa Women’s University in Japan. The semifinals are set on March 30.
“We were expecting that the game will be close,” said Shaq Delos Santos, who also called the shots for the Blaze Spikers when they lost to Foton in the finals of the Grand Prix last year.
“Good thing the girls followed the game plan and we made it to the semifinals,” de los Santos said. “We’re preparing for it. I hope everybody will step up.”
But the next round, Delos Santos, would be an entirely different story.
“We still have to adjust. Almost all of our players are new. We have to work hard because all teams are still adjusting and preparing,” he said.
Petron’s newest recruit Mika Reyes and mainstay Bang Pineda added five points each and setter Rhea Dimaculangan dished out 11 excellent sets against her former team.
Petron handily took first two sets but fell into trouble in the third. But after trailing 22-23, Aganon slammed a crisp kill from the open position as Gretchel Soltones’s attack went wide, giving the Blaze Spikers the match point.
Soltones, a fresh recruit from San Sebastian College, tallied seven points while Yumi Yongco had five points for the Tornadoes, who suffered their second loss in four matches.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza