Petron, Cignal belles target Liga lead

MANILA, Philippines - Petron and Cignal clash for the women’s lead today while PLDT-Air Force and Cavite open their bid in men’s play as action in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix presented by Asics resumes at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Powered by a pair of solid hitters, the Blaze Spikers shoot for their third straight win against the vastly-improved HD Spikers at 4 p.m. following the 2 p.m. encounter between winless Foton and Mane ‘N Tail in the women’s division.

In the men’s side, reigning champion PLDT-Air Force collides with newcomer Cavite at 6 p.m.

After falling short last conference, Petron had a quick start as it crushed Generika in its opening game before demolishing Mane ‘N Tail over the weekend in an out-of-town encounter in Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur, making the Blaze Spikers the title favorites in the inter-club tournament organized by Sports Core with Air 21, My Phone, Via Mare, Mikasa, Mueller Sports Medicine, Healthway Medical, Generika Drugstore, LGR and Jinling Sports as technical partners.

Petron’s gem of an import, former Miss Oregon Alaina Bergsma, sizzled for 25 points while her partner, Brazilian sensation Erica Adachi, produced all but two of her squad’s 55 excellent sets to tow the Blaze Spikers to a rousing 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 29-27 victory over the Lady Stallions.

Dindin Santiago also made a good account of herself, scoring 11 points while delivering a pair of razor-sharp kills down the stretch to help Petron survive the 37-point explosion of Mane ‘N Tail import Kristy Jaeckel.

“It was a test to our mental toughness,” said Petron coach George Pascua, referring to the game that featured heart-stopping rallies and an all-out display of volleyball brilliance before an overflow Ilocano crowd.

“But that victory will be worthless if we will not win over Cignal on Wednesday. Cignal is also still undefeated, so I expect the game to go down the wire because pride will be at stake. Nobody would want to lose. It will all boil down to who wants it more.”

Cignal will be bannered by the hard-spiking American duo of Sarah Ammerman and Lindsay Stalzer, who powered the HD Spikers past the RC Cola-Air Force in the opener before clobbering Mane ‘N Tail, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19, 26-24, last week.

Stalzer, a lovely hitter from Bradley University, led the HD Spikers with 25 points to go with Ammerman’s 22 markers.

“Our biggest strength is that we have reliable imports who know how to play and communicate well with our locals inside and outside the court,” said Cignal coach Sammy Acaylar. “I’m sure they will go all out in our next game against Petron. These girls love to compete and facing a strong team like Petron will squeeze out the best in them.”

Aside from Stalzer and Ammerman, Royse Tubino is also tipped to step up in a virtual showdown with arguably the league’s best middle hitter in Santiago. She will be backed by Abigail Praca who can also deliver the goods when the need arises.