Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
2018-psl-grand-prix—petron-def-smart-prepaid—mika-reyes
2018-psl-grand-prix—petron-def-smart-prepaid—mika-reyes

News

Petron survives SMART Prepaid’s valiant stand to keep streak intact


The league-leading Petron Blaze Spikers unleashed a furious rally down the stretch to eke out a 25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 26-24 victory over the SMART Prepaid Giga Hitters in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix before a massive weekend crowd at the Baliwag Star Arena in Bulacan.

Import Lindsay Stalzer and Frances Molina came through with clutch hits, while Mika Reyes foiled another furious performance from Gyselle Silva, as the Blaze Spikers preserved their immaculate slate.

It was Petron’s eighth consecutive victory, putting them two wins shy of sweeping the eliminations and bagging the top seed in the quarterfinals.

Stalzer, the Most Valuable Player in 2015, finished the job with 17 attacks and two aces for 19 points, while Molina and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas chipped in 13 markers apiece for Petron, who missed the services of American import Hillary Hurley as she is still recovering from a mild injury.

Reyes, for her part, delivered three blocks for a nine-hit effort.

More importantly, her defense on Silva played a crucial role in this important win before the league heads to a 10-day break in observance of the Lenten Season.

“Smart gave us a very good fight,” said Reyes.

“Kudos to Gyselle Silva. Her heart was there, making sure that all her spikes would be converted into points. We were inspired to stop her. I told myself that I will block her no matter what,” she added.

With Silva wreaking havoc from the attack zone, the Giga Hitters erected a five-point lead in the fourth set and threatened to stretch the match to a deciding set, 22-17. Although Stalzer delivered three consecutive hits, Silva scored on back-to-back aces to give Smart set point, 24-21.

#ReadMore  Work Auster sweeps ONIC, all set to claim MPL PH upper bracket playoff

Stalzer unloaded a powerful spike from the right wing, before Chloe Cortez scored off a gift. Molina then uncorked a pair of spikes to give Petron match point, 25-24.

Stalzer finished the match with an ace, towing the Blaze Spikers out of danger in a marathon match that lasted one hour and 42 minutes.

Silva had another glowing performance with 32 kills, two blocks, and five aces to finish with 39 points, just two points shy of matching the record-setting 41-point performance tallied by Sara Klisura last year.

Her partner, Sanja Trivunovic, submitted only 11 markers for the Giga Hitters, who remain winless in eight outings.

Petron will next face the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors on Thursday, April 5. SMART, on the other hand, will have a long break before taking on the Cocolife Asset Managers on Saturday, April 7. Both games will be played at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

Written By


You May Also Like

News

In less than 24 hours, Cignal head coach Shaq Delos Santos and Galeries Tower mentor Lerma Giron went from working together at the University...

News

Coming off a deflating loss to Galeries Tower in the qualifying round, Cignal bounced back with a dominant performance against Capital1, securing a 25-21,...

News

Second-seeded Petro Gazz handled business against 11th-ranked Capital1, securing a 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 straight-set victory to advance to the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino...

News

In one of the biggest shockers in PVL history, tenth-seeded Galeries Tower pulled off a seismic upset, stunning third-ranked Cignal, 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19,...

News

When Ces Molina and Riri Meneses left Cignal during the holiday break of the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference, questions arose about the HD Spikers’...

News

Cignal secured the third seed in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference qualifying round with a dominant 25-17, 25-15, 25-21 victory over Akari, wrapping up...

News

ANTIPOLO – PLDT put an end to Creamline’s dominant run, snapping the Cool Smashers’ 19-game winning streak that spanned six months and three conferences...

News

ANTIPOLO – Petro Gazz continued to gain momentum ahead of the qualifying round, cruising past Galeries Tower, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22, in its penultimate match...

Advertisement