Petron-F2 tiff up

A strong lineup against a strong system.

That’s the scenario shaping up as defending champion F2 Logistics battles Petron in Game 1 of the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference best-of-three finals series Tuesday at Muntinlupa Sports Center.

The Blaze Spikers had a massive buildup that netted some of the elite players in the country, including national spikers Mika Reyes and Rhea Dimaculangan.

But the Cargo Movers will lean on a well established system anchored on past and present La Salle standouts led by all-heart Aby Maraño.

“Petron is a super team but our advantage would be teamwork because we have been playing together for a longer time compared to them and we are familiar with what coach (Ramil de Jesus) wants us to do,” said Maraño.

F2 Logistics also hopes to ride on a five-game winning run heading into the series opener set at 7 p.m.

In the other match, Foton and Cignal clash for third at 5 p.m.

Rookie team Cocolife bagged fifth place after besting Sta. Lucia, while Generika-Ayala captured seventh place over Cherrylume.

History, however, is behind Petron which swept all its 13 games two years ago to capture the title.

This time, the Blaze Spikers hope to lean on a roster bannered by Cherry Rondina, Ria Meneses, Carmela Tunay, Bernadeth Pons, Remy Palma and mainstays Aiza Pontillas and Ces Molina.

“Having a strong lineup alone is not the key to winning a title,” said Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos. “We still have to work hard and prepare. It’s going to be an exciting battle.”

Maraño will be backed by young and talented Majoy Baron, Ara Galang, Desiree Cheng, Kim Kiana Dy and national team setter Kim Fajardo.

“We always play our best coming off a loss,” said De Jesus. “We’ll surely use our previous loss to Petron as a motivation. So let’s see. I hope our services and floor defense work again in Game 1 [of the finals].”