The Philips Gold Lady Slammers withstood everything Petron threw at them to come up with their first win of the Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix tournament, 25-20, 21-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-12, Saturday evening at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Philips Gold opened the match with a 1-0 set lead that was quickly erased when Petron took the next 2 sets of the match.
The Lady Slammers took matters into their own hands in the fourth set, taking a huge 23-15 lead late. Petron coach George Pascua then opted to insert his secondary unit to give his primary unit a chance to take a breather. Things quickly turned around for Petron, as Mayette Zapanta’s serving propelled Petron to a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 2, 23-21. Unfortunately for the Blaze Spikers, they were unable to continue their momentum as the Lady Slammers opted to trade points with them, forcing a 2-2 set tie.
Things were going well for Petron early on in the fifth set. Still using the same six that got almost stole the previous set, they were able to take an 8-5 lead over Philips Gold. The Lady Slammers, however, maintained their composure, and behind the efforts of Bojana Todorovic and Myla Pablo, tied the set at 8-all. Petron, once again, was able to take the lead at 12-10, but a 5-0 Philips Gold run gave the Lady Slammers the win.
Three Philips Gold players broke the 20-point mark in scoring. Todorovic punished Petron’s defenders to the tune of 25 points. The import was also tenacious on defense, logging in 8 excellent digs for the team, just one behind libero, Jen Reyes. The team’s other import, Alexis Olgard used her height to power multiple quick attacks for 21 points and 5 blocks. The third player in Philips Gold’s triple headed offense was Pablo. She threw down 20 points, 17 coming from attacks, 2 from blocks, and an ace.
These three, alongside the team’s setter, Fil-Am Lindsay Dowd, who dished out 23 excellent sets, were crucial in the team’s victory.
For Petron, Frances Molina led the offense with 24 points, 22 coming from attacks. Rupia Inck Furtado and Dindin Santiago-Manabat pitched in 13 and 12 points respectively.
Philips Gold will go on to face the Meralco Power Spikers on October 20, 6:15 at the Cuneta Astrodome. Petron, on the other hand, will face RC Cola on the same day, at 4:15.
The scores:
Philips Gold (3) – Todorovic 25, Olgard 21, Pablo 20, Dowd 6, Gumabao 4, Dadang 3, Gohing (L)
Petron (2) – Molina 24, Furtado 13, Manabat 12, Daquis 9, Morada 7, Marano 4, Adachi 4, Cayetano 4, Aganon 1, Reyes (L)
