by Jerome Lagunzad
Showing its might, defending champion F2 Logistics repeated over Foton, 25-19,25-18, 25-21, last night to book the first finals spot in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at The Arena in San Juan City.
Reigning tournament MVP MJ Perez sizzled anew with 21 points while heady setter Kim Fajardo made 28 excellent sets as the top-ranked Cargo Movers needed just one hour and 19 minutes to get the job done over the fourth-ranked Tornadoes.
The dominant win, which came on the heels of a tough four-set victory in the series opener last Tuesday, enabled F2 Logistics to make it back to the best-of-three finals where it will go up either No. 2 Petron or No. 3 Cocolife.
“The mindset of the players is to defend the title,” said F2 Logistics coach Arnold Laniog, who is doing a commendable job sustaining the winning tradition left by La Salle coach Ramil De Jesus.
“Our chemistry is improving and our connection is getting better. We know that we have a shallow bench. So this kind of improvement can definitely help us where we want to be.”
American Kennedy Bryan flexed enough muscles with 10 points while veterans Aby Maraño and Cha Cruz also came up with enough contributions for the Cargo Movers with eight points each.
Laniag also tipped his hat to Fajardo.
“Kim had a great game tonight. We know that Foton are taller and more aggressive at the net. But Kim did a good job calling the plays to keep the defense guessing. Her good playmaking opened things up for MJ (Perez), Cha and Aby at the attack zone,” he said.
