PLDT Home shocks fancied Petron in PSL QF

MANILA, Philippines -- PLDT Home TVolution overcame a sluggish start to pull off a gigantic upset of Petron, 16-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22, in the quarter-finals of the 2014 PLDT Home-Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino Conference volleyball tournament Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

With Louann Latigay delivering a mighty performance, the Power Attackers pierced holes into the heart of the Blaze Spikers' defense to roll to the hard-earned win that sent them to the semifinals of the women's division of this premier inter-club tournament supported by PLDT Home DSL and backed by Mikasa, Asics, Mueller Tapes, Jinling Sports Equipment, LGR, Bench and Healthway Medical.

Latigay, the quiet but efficient spiker from San Sebastian College, nailed all of her 18 points on smashes while skipper Sue Roces chipped in 14 markers for sixth seed PLDT, which somehow avenged its bitter setback last conference where they were the top seed only to falter in the semifinals and fell to Cignal.

With that, the Power Attackers punched a ticket to the next round where they will face RC Cola Air Force -- a team known for its furious offense and airtight net defense.

The winner between AirAsia and Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, will face Generika Army in the other semifinal pairing.

"Naka-recover kami sa pangit na first set," said PLDT coach Roger Gorayeb, whose wards surrendered a tournament-high 37 points to Petron's Dindin Santiago in the the preliminaries.

"I told them to treat this game as if this is the championship game. There's no more tomorrow. We are already in the quarterfinals of the Superliga and one lost and we're out. Good thing they responded. They showed that they have the experience, the desire to win this match."

Santiago, the 6-foot-2 spiker who emerged as the top scorer in the preliminaries, finished with 23 kills for a total of 28 points. But her effort went to naught as her teammates failed to step up while falling to a maze of turnovers, especially in the crucial stretch.

Petron had 34 errors compared to PLDT's 19.

"We took advantage of that," Gorayeb added. "Petron lived and died with Dindin Santiago. It was all about Dindin. Sya ang tinarget namin talaga. Kasi kapag sya ang nag-recieve, mahihirapan na sya pumalo. But na lang at naging effective."

True enough, after a listless start, PLDT waxed hot, punishing the lousy Petron defense with a flurry of hot smashes down the stretch to claim the second and third sets.

Santiago tried to rally the Blaze Spikers in a bid to stretch the game to a deciding set. But Latigay and Roces started to assert their presence while taking advantage of Petron's numerous turnovers early in the fourth set.

Petron managed to inch closer to knot the count at 22. However, a backrow violation followed by Santiago's wide attack doomed its chances, dealing it with a painful lost that booted it out of contention despite opening its campaign with three consecutive victories.

"Their experience was their primary advantage," said Petron coach George Pascua. "Matagal na silang magkakasama at alam nila kung saan kami aatekihin. Nawalan kami ng service receive kaya nahirapan kaming umatake."