As volleyball fans witness the rivalry between F2 Logistics and Petron again in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix, the Cargo Movers proved to be prepared with strength, snatching Game One from the Blaze Spikers and ending their 17-game winning streak during the best-of-three Finals series last Tuesday, April 30 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The set scores ended 25-20, 16-25, 25-23, and 25-23, with F2 Logistics imports MJ Perez and Lindsay Stalzer leading the way. Perez performed with 24 points off 23 kills and 11 excellent receptions, while Stalzer added 21 points with 17 digs. For the Cargo Movers’ defense, Majoy Baron and Aby Marano had 10 kill blocks each – six in the fourth set alone, also adding nine and seven points respectively. Libero Dawn Macandili impressed as well with 21 digs and 13 excellent receptions, while setter Alex Cabanos chipped 22 excellent sets.
For the opposing team, it was also the Blaze Spikers’ imports that carried their team, with Katherine Bell leading the way at 30 points off 26 kills and 13 digs. Stephanie Niemer had 20 points, while Mika Reyes and Remy Palma added seven points each.
When talking about defeating the defending champions for the first game and ending their winning streak, F2 Logistics head coach Ramil De Jesus shared in Filipino, “[We won] because my players were relaxed. I told them that we have nothing to lose, ever since, we already know how strong Petron is.” He added, “Anyway, there’s only six people inside the game. What’s great is that our imports want to win. They’re the ones needed to carry the team and that’s what we showed. The big question was ‘can we do it?’ and today, we did it.”
Game Two of the 2019 PSL Grand Prix series is on Thursday, May 2.