By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Today
(The Arena, San Juan City)
4:15 p.m. – Smart vs F2 Logistics
7:00 p.m. – Cignal vs Sta. Lucia Realty
Defending champion F2 Logistics tries to get back on the winning track against newcomer Smart today in the resumption of the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix action at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Cargo Movers will go into their 4:15 p.m. encounter with the slow-starting Giga Hitters motivated to bounce back from four-set loss to pacesetting Petron Blaze Spikers in a rematch of last year’s finals over the weekend.
Venezuelan star MJ Perez, the tourney’s reigning MVP, and her American counterpart Kennady Bryan are expected to lead the offensive charge while top locals Aby Maraño, Ara Galang and setter Kim Fajardo are keen on supporting them for F2 Logistics, which is still making some adjustments under interim coach Arnold Laniog.
Standing in their way is the bleeding Smart unit, led by Cuban Gyselle Silva, Serbian Sanja Trivunovic and veteran middle blocker Maureen Penetrante-Ouano, which is still searching for that breakthrough victory on its fourth attempt.
The Giga Hitters, with Silva firing on all cylinders, gave two-time tournament champion Foton Tornadoes all they could handle before dropping a 25-21, 20-25, 29-27, 12-15 decision last Tuesday night.
Clashing in the nightcap set at 7 p.m. are Cignal and Sta. Lucia Realty.
The HD Spikers are aiming to stretch their winning streak to three and keep their hold of the second spot despite losing some vital cogs, including former MVP and national team member Jovelyn Gonzaga, in the off-season.
American import Jeane Horton is proving to be a gem of a find while Serbian opposite Sonja Milanovic is also on a tear, with the dynamic duo combining for 63 points in Cignal’s five-set win over Foton last week.
“This is a tough tourney and every win counts,” said Cignal coach Edgar Barroga who will also bank on skipper Rachel Anne Daquis, star libero Jheck Dionela and wing hitter Cherry Vivas.
