Unless there’s a major shake-up in pool play and the playoff round, it looks like Petron and F2 Logistics are headed for the finals of the 2018 Chooks-to-Go-PSL Grand Prix.
Going into the Holy Week break, the Petron Blaze Spikers have won eight straight matches while F2 has won seven of eight games. The two teams have met only once so far in the tournament with Petron prevailing in four sets.
What has set these two teams apart from the field?
The obvious answer seems to be the imports the two league leaders have. Petron has veteran Lindsay Stalzer and the American has provided the scoring and leadership that is expected of an import player.
In a recent duel against winless Smart in Baliwag, Bulacan, Stalzer uncorked 19 points anchored on 17 attacks and two service aces. Together with a talented local crew, Stalzer and Petron bucked another dominant performance by Cuban national team member Gyselle Silva to keep the Blazers’ record unblemished.
Stalzer has been scintillating but she gets ample support from a local lineup that includes the consistent Mika Reyes and Ces Molina. It helps that former UST setter Rhea Dimaculangan is at the helm of the offense because she knows how to deal the tosses that each attacking player wants.
The strong local compliment holds true for F2 Logistics as well. The Cargo Movers De La University Lady Spikers core has been winning titles through the years and familiarity does breed good teamwork. Kim Fajardo has the prolific import Maria Perez but also has Aby Maraño, Cha Cruz and Ara Galang.
After a sleepy start against Generika Ayala also in Baliwag, the Cargo Movers started to percolate and began scoring at will against the Life Savers who could not revive the energy they had when they won a cardiac five-setter against Cignal HD just two days before.
What separates Petron and F2 is their ability to win the sets when they matter. Most teams fold up under the pressure but not the Blaze Spikers and the Cargo Movers. It’s not just about focusing in on taking the sets but actually locking in execution-wise as a team to triumph when the heat is on. That’s what the other teams will have to learn quickly to shake up the team rankings.