No. 1 Petron eyes sweep vs No. 2 Foton

MANILA, Philippines — Holder Petron brings out the broom as it eyes a perfect first-round ending today against second-running Foton in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference today at the Filoil Flying V Center.

The well-oiled Blaze Spikers look to make it seven-in-a-row in the 7 p.m. duel with dangerous Foton (5-1) and clinch top spot going to the second half of preliminary action.

Fancied F2 Logistics (4-2) shoots for its fifth win at 4:15 p.m. versus Smart (2-4) while Generika-Ayala (3-3) aims to finish at the upper half of the standings in its 2 p.m. encounter with Cocolife (1-5). 

The Blaze Spikers have blitzed through the opposition, posting straight-set romps in all but one of their six assignments, including a merciless 25-9, 25-12, 25-6 drubbing of Sta. Lucia last Tuesday.

“We’re really happy with what we have right now, but I always tell my players not to be complacent or contented,” said Petron coach Shaq delos Santos, quick to temper the celebrations. 

“I let them enjoy the win today. But I have to remind them that tomorrow will be a different story. We need to go back to practice and work hard because our mission is not yet done.”

Their opponent has emerged as a force with the likes of Mina Aganon taking charge in place of the Santiago sisters, Jaja and Dindin, never leaving the Top 2 all tournament long.

“Petron is really a strong team but we will try our best,” said Foton coach Aaron Velez, whose team had only one sloppy performance so far, a three-set loss to the Cargo Movers last Nov. 15. “Just like in our previous games, we will prepare hard and give them a good fight.’”