Game 1 loss only brought Petron closer together, says Mika Reyes

MANILA, Philippines—Winning a championship takes a lot from a team.

For defending champion Petron, repeating in the Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix needed the team to leave its ego out the door.

Mika Reyes said everyone from the Blaze Spikers had an open forum following their Game 1 loss to F2 Logistics and they agreed that instead of focusing on their strengths, they would rather talk about their weaknesses.

This open avenue led the defending champions to an instant bounce back after they blasted the Cargo Movers in four sets, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-19, Thursday at Filoil Flying V Center.

“Every player has pride, has ego, that they hold on to but we saw our weaknesses in Game 1, the flaws and shortcomings of one another,” said Reyes in Filipino. “We asked each other if they can cover for our spots and I think it’s a good thing.”

“We were more open to one another, and it was obvious in this game that we were helping each other.”

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Petron carried a 17-game winning run that stretched from its first game of the conference to Game 1 against the Cargo Movers where the Blaze Spikers lost 25-20, 16-25, 25-23, 25-23.

Reyes finished with 13 points on seven attacks, four blocks, and two aces, and she said that Game 1 was their wakeup call and they’d rather work on themselves than remember what transpired on the loss.

“We were more open to each other, everyone can feel it,” said Reyes. “We know that we’re not perfect, so everyone is helping each other.”