With some sort of momentum, F2 Logistics tangle with Cignal on Tuesday, shooting to wrap up the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference title series against the hard-fighting HD Spikers and win a first championship this season.
The first serve will be made at 7 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay with the Cargo Movers obviously wanting to avoid a deciding game against a Cignal side that just lost steam in the series opener.
Cignal will be coming into the game as a better rested side compared to the team that played Game 1, and that makes the HD Spikers even more dangerous.
Since acquiring the services of Filipino-American spiker Kalei Mau, F2 Logistics has been nearly invincible.
It finished the eliminations with a 12-2 mark before creaming Sta. Lucia in the quarterfinals and Foton in the semifinals to book a title series duel with Cignal, which shocked powerhouse Petron in a pair of thrilling semifinal encounters last week.
But bundling out the HD Spikers won’t be easy.
In Game 1, the Cargo Movers raced to a two-set lead until Rachel Anne Daquis, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Alohi Robins-Hardy and the HD Spikers launched a furious comeback to drag the match to a deciding fifth set.
The Cargo Movers got the goods in the fifth set from Aby Maraño, Ara Galang and Kim Fajardo Mau in a nail-biting 25-22, 26-24, 18-25, 17-25, 15-8 victory, much to the delight of a banner crowd that trooped to the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Saturday.
F2 Logistics coach Ramil de Jesus said Game 2 would be much harder than Game 1.
“We’re not expecting an easy fight. In fact, we were looking forward and prepared for a hard battle in Game 1,” said de Jesus, following their escape act.
Skipper Maraño added that they will show everyone that they deserve to regain the title that has eluded them for the past two years.
“Cignal pushed us to our limits so it is only fitting to double—or even triple—our performance in the next game,” said Maraño, who also skippers the national women’s team that will campaign in the 30th Southeast Asian Games this November.
True enough, the HD Spikers are just getting warmed up.
Cignal head coach Edgar Barroga said they will be marching to Game 2 with high morale after realizing that they can also play at an elite level.
“Our confidence definitely soared after Game 1,” said Barroga.