By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Today
(The Arena, San Juan City)
7 p.m. – F2 Logistics vs Petron
Petron goes for the kill against embattled defending champion F2 Logistics tonight in the resumption of their 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix finals at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Blaze Spikers will come in their return match at 7 p.m. fresh from their impressive come-from-behind 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-9 victory in the opener of their best-of-three series last Tuesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Touted American reinforcement Katherine Bell once again proved she’s as good as advertised, coming through with 42 points, 36 of them coming on the offensive end.
“Honestly, I really feel blessed to be with this team. Lindsay (Stalzer) is such a great captain and a great leader. She just keeps on telling me ‘Hey! You got this. Don’t think too much,’” she said.
A late replacement for Hillary Hurley, Bell laced the second highest offensive mark in league history with four service aces and a pair of kill blocks, impressing Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos.
“We know the quality of her game and tonight, she showed that she’s up to the challenge,” said Delos Santos. “She carried us in the fifth set. She pushed us. She didn’t quit. She led us to this victory.”
The Cargo Movers, however, are in familiar grounds after dropping the opener to the Blaze Spikers before foiling them in the next two matches for their first-ever league crown last year.
“This is not yet over,” said F2 Logistics coach Arnold Laniog. “I can see it in the players’ eyes that they really want to defend our title. If we can come up with strong services and better reception and passing, then, we have a good chance of forging a Game 3 on Saturday.”
F2 Logistics should get more contributions from reigning tourney MVP MJ Perez and Kennedy Bryan, who combined for just 31 points the last time around.
