BINAN, Laguna — With the lovely Rachel Anne Daquis back in harness, Petron overcame a rusty third set to pull off a 25-18 26-24, 20-25, 25-19 victory over Foton in the PLDT Home Ultera Philippine SuperLiga (PSL) women’s volleyball tournament All-Filipino Conference at the Alonte Sports Arena.
After missing their opening game due to an out-of-town commitment, Daquis provided the spark, helping the Blaze Spikers capture their second straight triumph in this prestigious inter-club tourney backed by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller Sports Medicine, Via Mare, LGR and Healthway Medical.
Daquis delivered 11 points and tons of intangibles while Dindin Santiago-Manabat carried the scoring cudgels, finishing with 20 of her 23 points on booming smashes, a vast improvement from her 13-point effort in their opening-day victory over Philips Gold last week.
Also starring was former San Beda ace Frances Molina and Aby Marano, who finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Petron which arguably has the strongest lineup on paper.
“Finally, kumpleto na kami,” said Petron coach George Pascua, adding that Daquis’ inclusion was a big boost to their performance.
“She provided a lot of intangibles, especially leadsership. Iba kasi talaga mag-motivate ng kakampi si Rachel. I’m glad na nag-rub off sa mga teammates nya ang leadership at energy nya.”
But everything was not rosy for Petron, especially in the third set.
With Nicole Tiamzon playing like a grizzled veteran, the Blaze Spikers fell into a maze of errors, allowing the the Tornadoes to claw their way back into the game.
Tiamzon, a former University of the Philippines stalwart, delivered three consecutive hits in a telling third-set run to put Foton safely ahead, 21-16. Petron racked up three straight points to inch closer, 19-21, but Patty Orendain unleashed three kills to seal the set victory.
“Nag-relax sila sa third set,” Pascua said. “Gusto na nila tapusin agad. Medyo nangigil ang mga bata. Mabuti atnakabawi naman sa fourth set. Maganda na ang inilaro nila at na-execute na nil ang mga plays namin.”
Tiamzon nailed 22 points while Orendain had 21 markers for the Tornadoes, who suffered their first setback after opening the tournament with a rousing win over Cignal in the opener.
Games Sunday: The Arena, San Juan
2:30 pm: Philips Gold vs Shopinas (live on Solar Sports, AksyonTV and sports5.ph)
4:30 pm: Mane ‘N Tail vs Cignal (live on Solar Sports, AksyonTV and sports5.ph)
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PSL All FIlipino Conference 2015
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