Bell rallies Petron to Game one victory

MANILA, Philippines — Katherine Bell made a resounding debut for powerhouse Petron, firing 29 hits to help power the Blaze Spikers to a 25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23 victory over Cocolife for the head start in their Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix semifinal series at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

Coming in as a late replacement for injured Hillary Hurley, Bell delivered 27 attack points to finish with 29 while former MVP awardee Lindsay Stalzer backed her up with 19 kills, two aces and two blocks for 23 hits and Mika Reyes and Frances Molina tallied nine and eight markers, respectively.

Petron, out to redeem itself after falling short in the finals last year, goes for the finals berth tomorrow.

“What happened to us in the finals (last year) was a lesson learned,” said Petron coach Shaq delos Santos. “We don’t want it to happen again. Despite this win, we will still work hard and polish our lapses in our game.”

Delos Santos added that the gamble they made in bringing in a new import in Bell appears to be paying off.  

“She just arrived last week and has been with us for only nine days. We’re so lucky that the schedule was adjusted so we had time to adjust. Anyway, it wasn’t a major adjustment. She’s very jolly and easy to get along,” said Delos Santos of the 25-year old spiker who led University of Texas to four Final Four appearances, including a title in the NCAA in 2012.

After cruising in the opening frame, the Blaze Spikers struggled in the face of the Asset Managers’ strong fightback in the second set as Serbians Sara Klisura and Marta Drpa steered the latter to a 21-17 lead.

Petron did strike back to force a tie at 21 but Klisura connected on a booming kill and Jane Gonzales came through with an ace to anchor the Asset Managers’ close win.

But the Blaze Spikers, with Bell combining with Stalzer and the local aces, re-imposed their will in the third then held sway in a thrilling fourth set duel to pound out the victory.

“We relaxed in the second set,” Delos Santos said. “Good thing we managed to recover in the third set. We will study all our lapses in the second set and improve it next game, especially our passing and reception.”

Drpa tallied 26 points while Klisura chipped in 18 markers for Cocolife, which is looking to make it to the finals for the first time since joining the league last year.