Cellar-dwellers seek to end PSL bid on high note

Games Saturday:

(De La Salle Sentrum)

5 p.m. – Cherrylume vs Generika-Ayala

7 p.m. – Cocolife vs Sta. Lucia

MANILA, Philippines — Pride will be at stake when Sta. Lucia and Cocolife clash in the classification battle for fifth to sixth places of the Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino Conference Saturday at the De La Salle Sentrum in Lipa.

Action starts at 7 p.m. with both the Lady Realtors and Asset Managers looking to essay a fitting finale to their respective campaigns.

Also looking to shut their bids on a winning note are Generika-Ayala and Cherrylume when they collide in the classification match for seventh to eighth places in the 5 pm curtain-raiser of this slam-bang double-header that is expected to draw another massive weekend crowd from this side of Batangas.

Meanwhile, Petron and F2 Logistics booked a best-of-three finals duel after dominating their respective foes in the semifinals.

Bernadeth Pons fired 19 kills to finish with 20 points as the Blaze Spikers dominated Foton, 25-21, 22-25, 25-9, 25-16, while the Cargo Movers made quick work of Cignal, 25-15, 25-15, 25-14, to shift their title-retention campaign on a higher gear.

Game One unwraps on Tuesday at the Muntinlupa Sports Center in Muntinlupa City.

But before that, all eyes will be on Sta. Lucia and Cocolife—two rookie teams who have displayed tremendous improvement this conference.

After a lowly finish in the Invitational Conference, both the Lady Realtors and Asset Managers averted another shutout as they clobbered their respective foes in the classification matches for fifth to eighth places last Tuesday at the Imus Sports Center.

Filipino-American spiker MJ Phillips powered Sta. Lucia to a straight-set victory over Cherrylume while grizzled veterans Michelle Gumabao and Joanne Bunag delivered in the clutch to tow the Asset Managers to a pulsating five-set conquest of Generika-Ayala in the first match.

Cocolife head coach Kungfu Reyes lauded the effort of his veterans, but emphasized that their mission is far from over.

“We want to finish on a high note,” said Reyes, who was part of the coaching staff when RC Cola-Army dominated the league with three straight titles four years ago. “Our pride is at stake. We will prepare hard against Sta. Lucia and make sure that we will bring home the fifth place trophy.”

Aside from the pretty—but very competitive—former La Salle star in Gumabao, Reyes will also banking on young guns like Shannen Palec, Marge Tejada, Carla Sandoval and Filipino-American Cherylain Dizon. National team member Denden Lazaro would also be there to man the backline.

On the other hand, Sta. Lucia is also dead serious in booking a win.

Lady Realtors’ head coach Sammy Acaylar said it has been a good conference on them and they are eager to cap it with a big victory.

“We may be a new team, but we were fighting hard every game,” said Acaylar, who will rely anew on Filipino-Americans MJ Phillips and Rebecca Rivera as well as Danika Gendrauli, Djanel Cheng, Janine Navarro and Lourdes Clemente.

 “That’s why I told the team to get it (5th place). Our management has been very supportive and there’s no better way to repay their trust by finishing the conference with a huge victory.”