The Petron Tri-Activ Spikers got their rhythm back and downed the Amy’s Kitchen-Perpetual Spikers in four sets, 25-18, 25-10, 22-25, 25-12, in the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino Conference women’s volleyball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre Saturday afternoon.
Coming off a loss to RC Cola-Army, Petron head coach George Pascua said the win is good for the team’s morale.
“Hopefully ‘yung loss namin sa Army, ‘yun ang naging wake up call para sa’min. At the same time, ‘yung pagkapanalo namin dito, ‘yun ang makapagpataas ng morale nila,” said Pascua.
The younger Amy’s Kitchen showed resilience early as the teams were tied 14-14 in the first set after an ace by Amy’s Maribeth Lara. The Tri-Activ Spikers, however, opened an 11-4 run with a cross court running attack by Remy Palma to take the set, 25-18.
Petron again showed mastery in the second set, overwhelming the Lady Spikers with a 16-4 opening. Amy’s team captain Cindy Imbo, and backups Jhona Rosal and Christine Sto. Domingo, tried to stop the bleeding, but the gap was too much to recover from, as the set was capped off by back-to-back aces by Palma and an off-speed spike by Petron team captain Aiza Maizo-Pontillas.
Petron’s backups Micah Morada and CJ Rosario showed up in the third set, replacing their top guns. The duo scored a total of eight points, all in the third, to help the Tri-Activ Spikers lead, 19-11. Then, the Lady Spikers shocked everyone with a sudden 14-3 run, courtesy of six errors by Petron and timely attacks by Imbo and Rosario, to overtake their counterparts and take the set, 25-22.
“Part ng game din ‘yung [pagkatalo sa third set] para ma-test din namin kahit papaano ‘yung second six namin, para pagdating ng top four, adjusted na rin sila,” said Petron’s head coach.
The Tri-Activ Spikers, putting back in their first six, made sure to keep the game in their grasp and finish the job in the fourth set. They led 16-9 after the second technical timeout and unleashed a 9-3 finisher, highlighted by Bernadette Pons’ back-to-back service aces.
Frances Molina and Pontillas led Petron in scoring with 12 apiece. Molina had 10 attacks, a block, and an ace, while the team captain had nine spikes, two blocks and an ace.
On the other hand, no Lady Spiker marked double digits; middle blocker Clemente was their highest scorer with seven off four kills and three blocks.
Petron (4-1) will look to hand the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers their first loss at the Batangas City Coliseum on Tuesday, while Amy’s Kitchen (0-5) will face the Generika Lifesavers tomorrow at Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
Petron (3) – Molina 12, Maizo-Pontillas 12, Pons 11, Palma 10, Nunag 7, Morada 6, Rosario 2, Masangkay 1, Zapanta 1, Yongco 1, Aganon 0, Negrito 0, Pineda (L), Reyes (L)
Amy’s Kitchen (1) – Clemente 7, Imbo 6, Lara 6, Versoza 5, Rosal 5, Sto. Domingo 4, Raterta 3, Ramos 0, Gual 0, Umandal 0, Medalla (L), Gayo (L)
