F2 welcomes back Perez, blasts Foton in SLiga

MANILA, Philippines — MJ Perez returned to F2 Logistics with a bang, leading the Cargo Movers to a straight-set 28-26, 25-15, 25-23 victory over Foton and a lock on the No. 2 seed in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix quarterfinals 

Perez, the 2017 MVP and champion who came in to replace Becky Perry, punched in 15 attacks and four blocks as the Cargo Movers secured their ninth win in 12 outings while also spoiling Foton star Jaja Santiago’s comeback following her Japanese League stint.

“I’s a very important win for us because we’ve locked on the second seed (with two games to spare in the eliminations),” said F2 coach Ramil de Jesus, who also drew  double-digit outputs from Lindsay Stalzer (12), Ara Galang (11 points and 17 digs ), and Aby Maraño (10 markers).  

“We’re actually still adjusting since Perez just arrived and had three days of practice with us. Although she’s familiar with the team from her previous stint, it was with (Kim) Fajardo (setting) before so there’s an adjustment to be done,” he added. 

Perez spearheaded the assault as F2 saved set point twice in the opening frame, eventually putting them on the hill with a crosscourt hit that her partner Stalzer followed up with the clinching kill.

Rampaging Petron sealed a perfect elims record by taking United VC as its 14th victim, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19.

Stephanie Niemer and Kath Bell dropped 23 and 18 respectively as the Blaze Spikers swept the preliminaries for the second straight conference while sending UVC reeling to its seventh loss in 13 games.

Yasmeen Bedart Ghani was the only UVC player in twin digits, landing 17 hits plus one ace against the Petron defense.