The Petron Blaze Spikers showcased their dominant form in a straight-sets romping of the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors, 25-7, 26-24, 25-16, to advance to the All-Filipino Conference semifinals, Saturday evening at the Malolos Sports & Convention Center in Bulacan.
Petron will face the winner of the ongoing Foton Tornadoes-Cherrlume Lady Warriors tiff. The knockout semifinals game will take place on Thursday, July 6, at 7:00pm.
Ces Molina powered Petron’s balanced attack with 11 points, 10 coming from attacks, while Aiza Maizo-Pontillas chipped in seven markers. All Petron attackers were able to score in the game.
After a dominant first set, the Blaze Spikers were given a scare by the Lady Realtors in the second set.
With rookie MJ Phillips steering the wheel, Sta. Lucia were able to gain a 24-21 lead. However, a power attack by Molina sparked Petron. A Philipps attack went out afterwards, while an ace by Rhea Dimaculangan and a soft drop by Pontillass knotted things up at 24-all. The Petron rally would not stop there, as a Dimacalungan ace and another attack error by Sta. Lucia’s Filipino-American spiker gave Petron a 2-0 edge.
“Buti na lang naka-recover kami nung second set,” said Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos. “Nawala yung reception namin. Buti na lang nag-step up lahat at bumalik yung service-receive namin.”
The errors continued for Sta. Lucia in the final set, as Petron were able to regain their form. The Lady Realtors committed a total of 26 errors in the contest compared to just 13 for Blaze Spikers.
Phillips paced Sta. Lucia with 11 point, while Jannine Navarro and Shirley Salamagos chipped in nine markers each.
Sta. Lucia will face the loser between Foton and Cherrylume in the classification battle for fifth to eighth places on Tuesday in Imus City.
The Scores:
Petron (3) – Molina 11, Maizo-Pontillas 7, Reyes 6, Rondina 6, Palma 4, Dimaculangan 4, Meneses 4, Pons 3, Tunay 2, Hingpit 1, Basas 1, Aganon 1, Duremdes (L), Pineda (L).
Sta. Lucia (0) – Phillips 11, Salamagos 9, Navarro 9, Clemente 2, Gendrauli 1, Cheng 1, Sante 1, Musa 0, Rivera 0, Lastimosa 0, Sabete 0, Rivera (L), Enclona (L)
