Petron outlasts Cignal in thrilling five-setter

Games Saturday:

(Cuneta Astrodome)

2 p.m. – Cignal vs Mane 'N Tail (W)

4 p.m. – Foton vs RC Cola-Air Force (W)

6 p.m. – PLDT-Air Force vs Maybank (M)

MANILA, Philippines – Petron survived a string of miscues and some scary moments down the stretch before booking a thrilling 25-18, 25-12, 18-25, 16-25, 16-14 victory over Cignal in the 2014 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix presented by Asics Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

With import Alaina Bergsma far from her deadly form, Dindin Santiago picked up the cudgels to help the Blaze Spikers remain unscathed in the women's division of this prestigious 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.

Santiago delivered 18 kills, two blocks and three aces for a total of 23 points while Carmina Aganon and Frances Molina chipped in 16 markers apiece for Petron, which found itself in trouble after Cignal launched a searing rally in the third and fourth sets before threatening to pull a massive upset in the closing moment of the deciding set.

The HD Spikers managed to tie the count at 14 in the fifth set, but Cherry May Vivas committed a crucial service error before Lindsay Stalzer was assessed with an attack error, leaving the Blaze Spikers erupting in jubilation.

"Today, our will to win was tested," said Petron coach George Pascua. "Cignal is a tough team. We were expecting this game to go down the wire. We had trouble with our reception and committed a lot of errors. I'm glad we regained our composure in the fifth set to clinch this victory."

Bergsma, the comely standout from Oregon, was sluggish on both ends as she finished with only 15 points while her partner, Erica Adachi of Brazil, delivered 57 excellent sets.

With the win, Petron tightened its grip on the leadership with six consecutive victories while Cignal fell to its third loss in six starts.

"We're now 6-0 and it's a pretty big responsibility on our part," Pascua said. "We have to bring our A-game in the next few games to sustain our momentum all the way to the finals."

But the Blaze Spikers nearly squandered the golden opportunity to remain unbeaten.

After easily clinching the first two sets, Petron committed a handful of unforced errors that completely changed the complexion of the game, giving Cignal a chance to run away with the victory.

Stalzer sizzled in the attack zone while Sarah Ammerman provided the spark in the fourth set as the HD Spikers erected a huge 20-9 advantage that sent the game to an extra set.

Ammerman tried to sustain her amazing performance in the fifth set, but she ran out of gas as she committed a net violation before Vivas muffed her service which could have given the HD Spikers the match point.

Stalzer finished with 27 points while Ammerman had 17 markers for Cignal, which fell to third place behind idle RC Cola-Air Force.