The Petron Blaze Spikers started hot but were unable to sustain the momentum, eventually surrendering their third straight loss to Taiwan Power of Chinese Taipei 20-25, 16-25, 9-25 in the AVC Women’s Club Championship at the Ha Nam Gym in Vietnam.
Off tremendous play from their Brazilian imports, Erica Adachi and Rupia Inck, the Blaze Spikers jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the opening set. The Taiwanese, however, quickly responded trimming the lead immediately and eventually hijacking the lead right at the second technical timeout, 16-15. Adachi did her best to keep Petron in contention but Chinese Taipei grooved to extend their lead to 21-18 and never looked back. Taiwan Power grabbed the first set and overpowered the Pinays in the following sets to convincingly take the match and remain undefeated.
Towering hitter, Chang Chen-Yi led all scorer with 15 markers off 14 attacks. Lee Tzu-Ying followed closely with nine points for the Taiwanese side who upset the heavily favored Bangkok Glass in five sets days earlier.
Former PSL MVP Dindin Santiago-Manabat, PSL-AFC MVP Rachel Daquis, and former collegiate MVP Aby Maraño each pitched in seven points for Petron, who were out-spiked (41-25) and out-blocked (7-1) but managed more aces (8-5).
Petron still has two matches to round out their campaign as they will face Thai club Bangkok Glass and Kazakhstan powerhouse Zhetyyssu Almaty in the next two days.
After the tournament, Petron returns to home shores to defend their PSL Grand Prix title beginning this October 10.
The Scores:
Taiwan Power (3) – Chang C.Y. 15, Lee T.Y. 9, Wu S.F. 4, Chang L.W. 4, Pi 3, Wen 3, Hsieh 2, Yang 0, Chen Y.J. 0, Lai (L)
Petron (0) – Daquis 7, Manabat 7, Maraño 7, Rupia 6, Adachi 4, Molina 3, Cayetano 0, Morada 0, Masangkay 0, Zapanta 0, Reyes (L)
*Photo taken from AVC – Asian Volleyball Confederation facebook
