Petron sweeps Smart-Army, enters 5th straight Finals

The Petron Blaze Spikers continued their dominance, out-gunning the Smart-Army Giga Hitters, 25-12, 25-15, 25-17, to advance to the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Invitational Cup Finals at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex.

Dating back to the 2016 Grand Prix, the Blaze Spikers have made five straight Finals apperances and are gunning for their third title in that span.

According to head coach Shaq Delos Santos, the quick decision over Smart-Army was a result of Petron’s focus in training.

“Talagang nag-focus kami sa training sa mga kailangan namin gawin. Very unpredictable ‘yung kalaban, so talagang winork out namin ‘yung mga kaya naming ayusin sa training,” he said, adding that the Finals will require another level of concentration. “Siyempre, ibang laban nanaman ang Finals. Blessing sa amin na maka-apak nanaman doon, pero alam naming may iba pa kaming goal.”

Different generations of UST stars led Petron’s balanced attack with Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Sisi Rondina tallying nine points apiece.

The Blaze Spikers will take on the winner of the F2 Logistics-Cignal HD semis match in the best-of-three Finals which begins on Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.

Dimdim Pacres topped the Giga Hitters with seven points while Joanne Bunag managed six.

Smart-Army settles for a bronze medal showdown with the loser of the F2 Logistics-Cignal HD match also on Thursday.

The Scores

Petron (3) – Pontillas 9, Rondina 9, Molina 8, Reyes 7, Pons 6, Cortez 5, Agudo 4, Dimaculangan 3, Palma 3, Tunay 3, Legacion 0, Duremedes (L), Gaiser (L)

Smart-Army (0) – Pacres 7, Bunag 6, Bautista 4, Malaluan 3, Dizon 2, Pabayo 2, Viray 2, Francisco 1, Gonzales 1, Bicar 0, Gutierrez 0, Sabas 0, Agno (L), Nunag (L)