Heart, mental toughness work wonders for F2 in PSL title conquest

MANILA, Philippines — F2 Logistics’ chemistry may be the best in the league, but there’s one key ingredient that propelled it to the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga title – its heart of a champion.

The Cargo Movers displayed that vaunted fighting spirit anew as they dominated Petron in Game Two of their best-of-three title series to emerge with their third crown in this prestigious tourney bankrolled by Isuzu, UCPB Gen and SOGO Hotel with ESPN5, Hyper HD and Aksyon TV as broadcast partners.

It was a sweet revenge for the Cargo Movers, who marched to the warzone eager to gain redemption from a heart-breaking setback in their title duel in the Grand Prix earlier this year.

De Jesus didn’t call the shots to attend to De La Salle University’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines title run, but still was downed seeing the Cargo Movers surrender to the Blaze Spikers in a thrilling three-game series.

“I’m here to guide the players and push them to their limits,” said de Jesus, shortly after booking a 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18 win over Petron in this league that also has Senoh, Mikasa, Mueller, Asics and Grand Sport as technical sponsors.

“When there is a room for improvement and something is missing on their performance, we are here to help them.”

True enough, the Cargo Movers were on fire in the playoffs.

Despite losing to Petron to surrender the outright semifinal berth, F2 Logistics quickly bounced back and beat Sta. Lucia Realty in the quarterfinals before clobbering erstwhile unbeaten Cignal in the sudden-death semis.

They kicked off Game One of their best-of-three title series on a sour note, prompting de Jesus to light a fire under these Cargo Movers.

“I keep on reminding them when their performance is declining. All of my players have already created a name in Philippine volleyball and I don’t want their level to go down,” said de Jesus.

F2 Logistics responded big time.

After escaping Game One by the skin of their teeth, the Cargo Movers erupted in Game 2 as they neutralized hotshot Sisi Rondina while allowing Ara Galang and Aby Marano to do damage.

Galang, who emerged as Most Valuable Player, unleashed 11 kills, three blocks and 17 receptions while Marano punched six blocks to finish with 15 points in what could be one of the most masterful performances of F2 Logistics this conference.

“We rarely win the first set against Petron so it was really surprising to win the first set only to collapse in the second,” De Jesus said, admitting that head coach Shaq Delos Santos always does a great job motivating his aces like Mika Reyes, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Frances Molina to have a strong start.