The Petron Blaze Spikers have been nothing short of dominant in the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference, winning all nine of their matches and locking up the top seed with a game remaining.
Their brilliance was on full display against Foton earlier today. Four Blaze Spikers reached double-digits in the four-set drubbing, with several of their bench players seeing extended action.
Middle blocker Mika Reyes has been a pillar of consistency for the Blaze Spikers, as the former De La Salle Lady Spiker tallied 13 points against the Tornadoes.
Reyes, however, echoes her team’s concerns about complacency. While most of Petron’s matches have been romps, the Blaze Spikers have let a few opponents sneak a set win here and there.
For a team striving for second straight All-Filipino Cup, tiny mishaps are easily magnified and become cause for concern.
“Okay naman, okay ‘yung nangyayare. Pero, may times na nagco-collapse. Lagi lang din kami nire-remind ni coach (Shaq Delos Santos) na porque ganito ‘yung record namin, hindi pwedeng ganoon lang ‘yung igagalaw namin,” said Reyes, who has won two championships with the Blaze Spikers.
“Hindi kaming pwedeng tamarin. Kailangan namin i-prove kung bakit naging ganito ‘yung standing namin. Kailangan namin ituloy ‘yung tamang ginagawa namin,” the 24-year-old asserted.
“Hindi siya maliit na problema talaga. Actually, mahirap siya i-solve kasi nasa isip na namin na undefeated kami. Ako nga, iniisip ko na may kulang pa din kahit nakakapalo ako or something. Nagco-collapse talaga minsan.”
Petron can complete the preliminary round sweep on Saturday when they face the Smart Giga Hitters. After that, they move on to the quarterfinals, where they take on the team with the worst record in a knockout match.
When the big moments come, Reyes knows her team will eventually get into their vaunted form.
“Hopefully, lumabas talaga ‘yung consistency namin sa dulo. Kasi in two or three weeks matatapos na din ‘to so kailangan namin mag-focus talaga.”
