Staring at a two-set hole, the Petron Blaze Spikers leaned on hard-hitting Katherine Bell to rally back in five sets against the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers, 23-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-9, in Game One of the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
After a cold start in the first two sets, Bell pounded in 42 points, a PSL Finals record and the second most points scored in league history.
Petron head coach Shaq Delos Santos praised his team’s resiliency and Bell’s clutch play.
“Tiyagain lang namin ‘yung game, execute ng gameplan. Hindi natatapos ‘yung game sa dalawang sets. Lumaban lang kami hanggang dulo,” said Delos Santos.
“Sobrang importante nang ginawa ni Bell. Kasi nakita mo noong kailangan talata namin ng point, gumawa siya lalo na noong fifth set,” he added as the Texas native scored nine points in the decider.
Team captain Lindsay Stalzer added 17 points for the Blaze Spikers who tallied 69 attack points to F2 Logistics’ 52.
Reigning MVP MJ Perez led the Cargo Movers with 16 points while Kennedy Bryan added 15.
The Blaze Spikers can complete their redemption tour against their tormentors from last year on Thursday at the FilOil Flting V Centre.
The Scores
Petron (3) – Bell 42, Stalzer 17, Pontillas 9, Reyes 9, Dimaculangan 4, Molina 4, Palma 2, Fukuda (L)
F2 Logistics (2) РPerez 16, Bryan 15, Mara̱o 9, Cruz 8, Nunag 8, Fajardo 4, Clememte 3, Galang 2, Yoshioka (L)
