MANILA – F2 Logistics Cargo Movers and Petron Blaze Spikers booked the first two semifinals seats in the 2018 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix with masterful wins in the quarterfinals at the General Trias Sports Center in Cavite.
Cargo Movers – the defending champion – survived some scary moments down the stretch before completing a 25-18, 25-18, 27-25 straight-set triumph over Smart Giga Hitters.
Maria Jose Perez led the way with 17 points while Kennedy Bryan notched 15 kills and a block to finish with 16 points for Cargo Movers, which will face the winner of Foton Tornadoes and Sta. Lucia Realty series in the best-of-three semifinals.
After lopsided wins in the first two sets on Saturday night, Cargo Movers seemed headed to the same in the third frame after building an 8-1 lead but Giga Hitters made its last run and was able to taste the advantage 18-17.
Both teams had a tight exchange since. The scores were on a 25-all deadlock before veteran Cha Cruz delivered a sharp kill from the open position followed by a service ace that sealed the victory for Cargo Movers.
“It’s still far from over,” said Cargo Movers head coach Arnold. “We still have to work hard to improve our performance because things will get tougher in the semifinals.”
Gyselle Silva, who erupted for a record-breaking 56 points last week, was held to only 25 points for Giga Hitters while drawing very limited support from Serbian spiker Sanja Trivunovic, Genie Sabas and LaRainne Fabay, who all combined for 16 points.
In the other game Blaze Spikers clobbered Generika-Ayala Lifesavers 25-19, 25-20, 25-22 to punch a second semifinals ticket. American imports Hillary Hurley and Lindsay Stalzer had 18 and 17 points, respectively, for Blaze Spikers.
Gunning for its first Grand Prix crown since winning in 2014, Blaze Spikers will face the winner between Cocolife Asset Managers and Cignal HD Spikers in the semifinals./PN
