F2's De Jesus on mammoth clash vs Petron: 'Just an ordinary game'

MANILA, Philippines – Despite all the hype surrounding their battle against Petron in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix, F2 Logistics coach Ramil de Jesus is treating it as an ordinary ballgame.

“We’ll treat it as just another ordinary game,” said de Jesus a day before facing the unbeaten Blaze Spikers on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

“It’s inevitable that we will face each other again. So what we can do is just to play our game and be positive.”

The clash between the Blaze Spikers and the Cargo Movers is spiced with a lot of drama.

For one, Lindsay Stalzer will face her former team for the second time after she was left unsigned in favor of Katherine Bell and Stephanie Niemer.

Stalzer, the reigning Most Valuable Player, led the Blaze Spikers to the Grand Prix title last year, and she is very familiar with their system due to her two-year stint with them.

Also, Petron has won all but one set in its first 10 matches, sending a strong message to the rest of the league that is dead serious in defending its crown.

It was the Cargo Movers who dealt their first set loss during their first meeting last March 7.

Still, de Jesus stressed that they will give their best to finish the job and hand Petron its first loss this year.

“We may have lost in the first round, but it was still a good fight. We promise to give them a very good fight no matter what the outcome would be,” said de Jesus said, who will again bank on Stalzer and Rebecca Perry as well as the local crew of Ara Galang, Aby Marano, Dawn Macandili and Majoy Baron.

For Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos, they can’t be complacent against the Cargo Movers, especially with de Jesus calling the shots.

“We can’t be complacent against them (F2 Logistics). They will surely prepare so we have to be ready as well. This is going to be an interesting game,” Delos Santos said, adding that de Jesus is the best in the business when it comes to bouncing back after a loss.