Petron tossers shoot for 1st round sweep

By Jerome Lagunzad

Games Today
(The Arena, San Juan City)
4:15 p.m. – F2 Logistics vs Cignal
7 p.m. – Petron vs Cocolife

Powerhouse Petron tries to complete a first-round sweep while Cocolife aims to stretch its own win-run as they collide tonight in the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix at The Arena in San Juan City.

Game time is at 7 p.m., with the Blaze Spikers determined to rack up their seventh straight victory and tighten their grip of the top spot while the Asset Managers are out to claim their fifth consecutive win following a 0-2 start.

“Petron is the best team in the league right now,” said Cocolife coach Moro Branislav, noting that the connection between veterans setter Rhea Dimaculangan and import Lindsay Stalzer fuel the Blaze Spikers’ attack.

Serving as a fitting appetizer is the 4:15 p.m. encounter between defending champion F2 Logistics and struggling Cignal.

The Cargo Movers are raring to nail their third straight win and jack up their current 3-1 slate while the HD Spikers are out to get back on track and prop up their even 2-2 card.

A lion’s share of the spotlight, however, is expected to fall on the main match, with Petron aching to gain more momentum and confidence going to the second-round of preliminaries.

Based on the official tournament format, teams will be ranked according to their first-round performances. Pool A will be composed of the first, third, sixth and eighth seeded teams while Pool B will have the second, fourth, fifth and seventh seeded squads, all figuring in another round of battles.

The eventual survivors will advance to the knockout quarterfinals, with the winners advancing to a pair of best-of-three semis series. The finals showdown will be another race-to-two affair.