The Petron Blaze Spikers proved their worth after clinching a berth into the 2017 Chooks-to-Go/Philippine Superliga Grand Finals after surviving fellow heavyweights Foton Tornadoes, Saturday evening.
It was an incredibly tight match which Petron overcame a slow start to outclass the Tornadoes in the end. Now, looking at the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in the Finals, Petron is determined to avenge their only loss of the elimination round in the biggest stage of the season.
Petron was F2 Logistics’ first match of conference. The Cargo Movers held a distinct advantage as Petron had already played four matches prior to their meeting.
“It was sort of unfair that they got to play us as their first match of the season and we had already played so many matches,” said Lindsay Stalzer, who powered in 25 points in Petron’s win over Foton, with a laugh.
“But I think we’ve gotten better since that loss. They’ve gotten better as well but, I think we’ve gotten exponentially better.”
Petron’s second import, Hillary Hurley thought their early loss served as a jumping point for her squad.
“That loss really helped us come together as a team. It showed a lot of our weaknesses and the things we needed to improve. I think we’re going to be better this time around,” added Hurley, who slammed Foton for 24 markers.
The Blaze Spikers are gunning for their first Grand Prix title since 2014. For both their imports, nothing would be a better Christmas gift than the Grand Prix trophy.
“We’re going to work really hard towards that championship,” Hurley added.
“If we play our game and really focus, I think we’re an amazing team.”
