PSL leaders Petron, Philips Gold dispute top spot

Petron Blaze Spikers. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The order of the semifinals will be the top agenda when qualifiers Petron, Philips Gold and Cignal figure in the last day of eliminations Monday in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix women’s volleyball at The Arena in San Juan City.

Defending champion Petron and co-leader Philips Gold will battle for the No. 1 spot which will take on the No. 4 team in the knockout semis on Thursday.

Cignal will gun for the No. 3 berth as it goes up against Meralco in the other game. A defeat will tie the HD Spikers with the resting Foton Tornadoes at third and fourth spot which will be resolved by quotient system depending on how many points Cignal gave up.

“At this point it’s useless thinking of the standings because no matter who you face in the semis, you only have one chance. You have to win or say goodbye,” said Petron coach George Pascua.

At the moment, his team is being avoided by the others thanks to their talent-laden line-up and a system that is tested by previous championship experience and stints in the international stage.

“Although it doesn’t really matter who will be the No. 1 or No. 2 in the semis, both of us want to win to gain enough momentum for the semis. This game should serve as our springboard for tough battles ahead,” sad Pascua.

Philips Gold mentor Francis Vicente succeeded in avoiding Petron in the semis but noted that today’s game will be a valuable help if and when they face the Blaze Spikers in the best-of-three finals.

“We are going to face them (Blaze Spikers) in the last day of eliminations, we are planning to go all out to create a mental note that Petron is also beatable. We just have to work together as a solid team to reach our goal,” Vicente said.

After all, Philips Gold has already proven its worth against Petron after winning the first round via a championship-caliber 25-20, 21-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-12 victory last month.

Now the HD Spikers are also gunning for better standings. But they will come into the game from a straight sets loss to the Lady Slammers, while the Power Spikers are riding the crest of a first-ever win in the tourney after beating RC Cola-Air Force.