After being handed their first loss of the season last Saturday, the Petron Blaze Spikers bounced back, blasting the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors in a straight set win, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20, in a Tuesday evening bout at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Blaze Spikers will boast a 2-1 win-loss record when they head to Pool C with the Cignal HD Spikers. And coach Shaq delos Santos hopes that his team will enter the round with a sense of urgency.
“Knowing our team, kailangan pa namin mapiga yung talent and skills ng bawat isa. Sa next round kasi darating na yung pressure kaya kailangan pa namin mag ensayo,” Coach Delos Santos shared.
As early as the first set, aside from allowing too many attacks and service aces from Petron, the Lady Realtors’ errors with rotation, service, and miscommunication hurt their chances to bag their first win in the first round.
In the second set, despite Sta. Lucia taking an early lead due to Petron’s errors and attacks, the Blaze Spikers eventually cleaned up their play.
Delos Santos shared, “Kanina madami kaming attack errors. Kailangan naming gandahan pa yung first ball para maka-set play.”
Their defense tightened up and their offense became more precise, rewarding them an 8-0 run nailing Sta. Lucia at 15 points. The bleeding only stopped after Petron’s error, for which Sisi Rondina immediately made up with an emphatic spike, and Remy Palma’s block finished the second set at 25-16.
The third set became a Petron party after they hit another 8-0 run thanks to Pons and Rondina’s attacks. Sta. Lucia continued to commit errors, most especially on attack. The Blaze Spikers finished the set and the match, 25-20.
Bernadeth Pons paced Cignal with 10 points, while Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Cherry Rondina chipped in nine and seven markers respectively. All 14 Blaze Spikers played in the game.
Sta. Lucia’s Fil-Am MJ Phillips’ impressive 12 markers were not enough to even come close to the dominant Blaze Spikers.
The Lady Realtors limp to a 0-2 slate. They will face the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers on Thursday, June 15, at the Strike Gym in Bacoor City. – By: Danine Cruz
The Scores:
Petron (3) – Pons 10, Pontillas 9, Rondina 7, Palma 6, Reyes 3, Tunay 3, Meneses 3, Basas 3, Molina 2, Hingpit 2, Aganon 1, Dimaculangan 1, Pineda (L), Duremdes (L).
Sta. Lucia (0) – Phillips 12, Navarro 8, Clemente 4, Gendrauli 4, Raslan 3, Cheng 1, Rivera Re 1, Sabete 1, Lastimosa 1, Salamagos 0, Sante 0, Rivera RJ (L), Enclona (L).
