Petron, Shopinas to dispute Superliga crown

PETRON handily demolished Philips Gold, 25-14, 25-23, 25-18, while Shopinas went through the wringer in downing Foton, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 17-15, last night to arrange a final encounter in the Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference at Cuneta Astrodome.

The Lady Clickers relied on the steadiness of Stephanie Mercado who delivered two of her team’s final four points to bail Shopinas out of trouble.

Earlier, the Blaze Spikers extended their dominance to 11-0.  Petron and Shopinas will dispute the title in a best-of-three final which starts May 11 in Imus, Cavite.

“I hope we can bring this level of game into the finals,” said Shopinas coach Ramil de Jesus. “In the finals, we will try to give it a tough fight that will make the fans happy.”

Aby Maraño topscored with 13 points, including nine on attacks, as Petron bombed away at Philips Gold which appeared too exhausted making the semifinals following successive games last week.

Rachel Daquis added 12, Maica Morada chipped in 11, while Dindin Manabat and Frances Molina fired eight apiece for the Blaze Spikers.

“I told them to forget about the 10-0 (sweep of eliminations) because this is a different scenario. One miss, you die,” said Petron coach George Pascua.

He, however, admitted that the two-week break will pose “a challenge” for them.

In total, Petron launched 40 air strikes against 28 from Philips Gold. Myla Pablo had 10 points for the Lady Slammers but team captain Michele Gumabao and gunner Rossan Fajardo could only make five each.

Maraño also scored two of Petron’s seven points on blocks, while Manabat had four of the team’s nine aces in the match that lasted for one hour and 21 minutes.