F2 Logistics, Petron duel for SLiga crown

MANILA, Philippines — F2 Logistics sailed past Cocolife while Petron stood its ground against a never-say-die defending champion Foton to arrange another titular showdown in the Chooks-to-Go Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay yesterday.

The Cargo Movers leaned on former Olympian Maria Jose Perez’s firepower to pluck out a 25-17, 25-16, 25-17 victory over an error-prone Cocolife Asset Managers to seize the first finals berth.

In the second semis game, Petron completed the job it started in the first set where it rode on a huge turnaround and went on to dispose of reigning back-to-back titleholder Foton, 30-28, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21 to gain the other finals berth.

“If we look at the first set, you’d really think that we have no chance. We started tense. The players were in a hurry and they lost their rhythm. We just reminded them na kailangan nilang mailabas ang laro nila  (they must show what they are capable of)and good thing they were able to do it because the first set was very crucial,” said Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos.

F2 Logistics entered the championship round of the previous conference, the All-Filipino, in a bid for a title-repeat but relinquished its crown to Petron. 

Perez, who donned her country’s colors in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had 16 hits and two aces.

American Kennedy Bryan backed Perez with 13 points, all on attacks.

Cargo Movers coach Ramil de Jesus said a long preparation was the key to their repeat victory over the Asset Managers whom they subdued in the elims also in straight sets, 26-24, 25-21, 25-21.

“We watched Cignal and Cocolife’s game when we were in Bacolod (Nov. 4). I told them to study the match since I am sure that we will take on either of them,” said De Jesus.

“The team (F2 Logistics) is more confident now and they really want to win. They don’t want a repeat of our first game against Cocolife in Bulacan when we fell to a slow start and Cocolife nearly took the set. So I told them we should be more aggressive today,” added De Jesus.

De Jesus, however, noted anew his charges’ tendency to relax in the third set after taking the first two as F2 Logistics found itself trailing early, 6-3, then fell to errors themselves leading to a back-and-forth stretch midway before pulling away behind Perez.

“That tendency is still there – they become overconfident and lost their focus leading to a momentum shift to the opponent. We will address that in our evaluation as soon as I head back to the dugout,” said De Jesus.

The Cargo Movers raced to an 11-2 edge in the first set as Cocolife fell to five early faults then leaned on Perez and Bryan to fend off the Asset Managers who tried to trim their deficit to five twice.

F2 Logistics then cashed in anew on Cocolife’s errors in the second set to gain an 11-4 advantage.