Petron clinches Superliga crown

MANILA, Philippines - Alaina Bergsma delivered an outstanding performance on her last day here as she lifted Petron to a 25-21, 21-25, 25-15, 25-9 victory over Generika and hand the Blaze Spikers the 2014 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix presented by Asics late last night at the Cuneta Astrodome.

A comely hitter from Oregon who competed in the 2012 Miss USA, Bergsma scored 21 kills for a game-high 24 points to be crowned Most Valuable Player after she essayed a fairy-tale ending for the Blaze Spikers, who finally won the title after seeing action in the shadows of on-leave powerhouse Army in the first three conferences.

She was backed by Dindin Santiago and Frances Molina, who contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Petron, which fell behind by seven, 3-10, in the third set only to storm back with a fiery rally to win the set, 25-15, and gain enough momentum for the deciding set.

“It was very overwhelming,” said Petron coach George Pascua. “We were down in the third but the girls refused to give up. They did their best. They played with a lot of heart and a lot of fire right from the start.”

Also emerging victorious was RC Cola-Air Force, which defeated Cignal, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 26-24, for third place, as well as Foton, which eked out a thrilling 25-23, 18-25, 17-25, 25-12, 15-12 victory over Mane ‘N Tail, to clinch fifth place of the women’s division of this prestigious inter-club tournament organized by Sports Core with Air21, My Phone, Via Mare, Mikasa, Mueller Sports Medicine, Healthway Medical, Generika Drugstore, LGR and Jinling Sports as technical partners.

Emily Brown poured all of her 24 points on kills while Bonita Wise, Maika Ortiz and Judy Ann Caballejo submitted 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively, for RC Cola-Air Force, which was relegated to the classification round after suffering a straight-set defeat from Generika in the semifinals last week.

Against the HD Spikers, the Raiders were a picture of determination as they marched with a vastly-improved net and floor defense and relentless assaults, especially in the fourth set where they rallied from a 16-18 deficit to erect a 23-19 advantage to seal the victory.

“This game is very important because it will determine who will end up with a podium finish,” said RC Cola-Air Force coach Rhovyl Verayo. “That’s why we worked hard in preparing for this match. We improved our defense and came up with new offensive patterns.”

Sarah Ammerman finished with 26 points while Honey Royse Tubino chipped in 15 markers for the HD Spikers, who had a disappointing finish despite opening the conference with three wins in their first four games.

“They are a tough opponent. They had beaten us twice,” Verayo said. “That’s why we came here prepared. The stakes are high and we don’t want to suffer another setback.”

In the first game, Russian hitter Irina Tarasova served as a pillar of strength for Foton as it rolled over Mane ‘N Tail in the deciding set to clinch the fifth place.

Tarasova delivered 26 hits, three blocks and four aces to finish with 33 points for Foton, which survived another career performance from Mane ‘N Tail reinforcement Kristy Jaeckel who notched 35 kills, three blocks and three aces for a tournament-high 41 points.

Jaeckel’s previous high of 40 points was also against the Tornadoes in the first round last Oct. 29. She, however, committed an attack error from the middle that iced the game for Foton.

It was a rousing victory for the Tornadoes, who had an impressive finish despite being assembled with merely a week left before the start of this tourney that has Solar Sports as official broadcast partner.