MANILA – Petron Blaze Spikers averted disaster after a 25-20, 18-25, 25-16, 16-25, 16-14 victory over Cignal HD Spikers in the 2019 Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night at the Muntinlupa Sports Center.
Frances Molina led the way with 25 points, including 21 attacks, while Ilongga Aiza Maizo-Pontillas had triple-double 11 markers, 24 digs and 11 excellent receptions for the Blaze Spikers (3-1).
Tied at 11 in the fifth set, the HD Spikers looked to dispose the Blaze Spikers when it took a two-point cushion, 13-11, before reaching match point, 14-12, but Petron , romped with a 4-0 blast behind the hot smashes of Molina to frustrate Cignal.
“It was a hard-earned win for us, Cignal pushed us to the limit,” said Blaze Spikers head coach Ceseal delos Santos. “But I’m happy that my team held on tight and didn’t crumble.”
“Coming off a loss is just as hard and we can’t afford to lose back-to-back games if we want to build momentum early on the conference,” he added. “It’s a good wake up call for us, see what we need to work on, try to adjust to situations thrown at us.”
Rachel Anne Daquis finished with 17 points while Mylene Paat chipped in 11 markers as the HD Spikers suffered its first setback after winning their first three assignments.
In the second game, Foton Tornadoes snapped its three-game losing skid following a come-from-behind 21-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 victory over the PLDT Home Fibr Power Hitters./PN
