MALOLOS CITY – Tatangkain ng Petron at F2 Logistics na umusad patungo sa isang dream finals duel paglaban nila sa kanilang mga katunggali sa sudden-death semifinals ng Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference ngayon sa Malolos Sports and Convention Center dito.
Matapos manguna sa Group C na walang talo, aarangkada ang Blaze Spikers laban sa Foton 3 p.m. Babanggain naman ng Cargo Movers ang Cignal 5 p.m. sa main game.
Magbabalik sa F2 Logistics, na 5-1 sa preliminaries, si Fil-American spiker Kalei Mau, na hindi naglaro ng five matches dahil sa ankle injury.
Nang talunin ng Cargo Movers ang Sta, Lucia 25-22, 25-15, 25-15 bumuga si Mau ng 11 points upang makatulong sa balanced attack nina Ara Galang, Kianna Dy, Aby Maraño at Majoy Baron.
“Having Kalei back is a big advantage for us,” sabi ni F2 Logistics head coach Ramil de Jesus.
“Kalei gives us more options to executive our plays. She can score from all angles and her leadership inside the court was one of a kind,”aniya.
Pero hindi magiging madali ang daan patungong finals para sa Cargo Movers.
Llamado ang Cignal, isang beteranong team na hindi tumitinag under pressure.
Tinapos ng HD Spikers ang classification round na may 5-1 card, at ang grupo nina Rachel Anne Daquis, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Mylene Paat and Alohi Robins-Hardy ay handa sa all-out war upang makarating sa finals.
“We fell short of winning the title last year so we will do everything to win this time,” pangako ni Cignal coach Edgar Barroga matapos ang five-set loss sa Petron noong weekend.
“The adjustment period is over as we are already in the finals. We know F2 Logistics is such a solid team so we would do everything to pull off an upset,” sabi pa niya.
Gusto namang umahon ng Petron sa pagkatalo nito noong nakaraang conference.
Tinuturing ni setter Rhea Dimaculangan ang pagkatalo sa Cignal sa semifinals na isang eye-opener. “We are still licking that old wound,” sabi ni Dimaculangan, na dating University of Santo Tomas star at kasama sa national women’s team sa 30th Southeast Asian Games.
“We learned our lesson the hard way last conference. So we will play in the semifinals and try our best to make sure it won’t happen again,”aniya.
Magbabandera sina Sisi Rondina, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Ces Molina, Denden Lazaro at Dimaculangan para sa Petron laban sa Foton, na pangungunahan nina EJ at Eya Laure, Shaya Adorador, Elaine Kasilag at Mina Aganon.