Bacoor City—Petron shoots for the solo lead against an old nemesis when the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix rolls back to the Bacoor Strike Gym in Bacoor City Saturday.
After racing to a pair of victories, the Blaze Spikers will be tested against a strong Foton squad in the 6 p.m. featured encounter of this prestigious women’s club tourney that has ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast partners.
In the first game, Cignal seeks to sustain its momentum when it collides with struggling Sta. Lucia at 2 p.m. while Generika-Ayala and PLDT seek to finally barge into the win column when they clash in the 4 p.m. second game of this explosive weekend triple-header.
Billed as the most feared club team in the country today, the Blaze Spikers are sharing the lead with bitter nemesis F2 Logistics while the Tornadoes are not far behind after prevailing over United VC in the opening salvo of this tourney that also has Asics, Mikasa, Mueller, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Hotel Sogo and Data Project as sponsors.
But what makes this match doubly interesting is the intense rivalry between the Blaze Spikers and Tornadoes.
In fact, after Foton won back-to-back crowns in 2015 and 2016, Petron hired its import, Lindsay Stalzer, to come up with a runner-up finish. The following year, Stalzer conspired with Katherine Bell to finally nail the crown and cement her reputation as the most successful guest player in the league with three titles.
But Stalzer had already crossed the enemy lines and joined another powerhouse team – F2 Logistics – in its quest for the title in this import-flavored conference.
With Stalzer no longer around, Bell and fellow import Stephanie Niemer worked doubly hard to deliver a flawless performance in the Blaze Spikers’ first two matches against PLDT Home Fibr and Generika-Ayala.
Niemer fired 24 points while Bell registered 21 markers in Petron’s convincing 25-16, 25-23, 25-15 win over a Generika-Ayala squad that was missing the services of import Nikolle del Rio late Thursday.
“I believe that we haven’t seen their best,” said Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos, referring to his imports who hardly broke a sweat in their 73-minute demolition of the Lifesavers.
“They are seasoned players who know what it takes to win. I know they will go all out in our next game against Foton on Saturday.”
Prevailing over a talented team like Foton is easier said than done.
The Tornadoes may have lost Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat to the V.Premier League of Japan, but their imports Courtney Felinski of United States and Selime Ilyasoglu are brilliant on both ends of the floor.
“I’m glad that both of them are now jelling with the team,” said Foton coach Aaron Velez, who is pinning his hopes on local players like Maika Ortiz, CJ Rosario, Gen Casugod, Elaine Kasilag and Shaya Adorador.
“We know Petron is a very good team so our game against them will be an ultimate test for us.”
