DESPITE all the successes they had, head coach Ramil de Jesus still didn’t stop pushing F2 Logistics to achieve excellence.
His never-ending support and encouragement bore fruit as the Cargo Movers dominated Petron to capture the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference crown before another banner crowd Saturday at the Ynares Sports Center.
It was such a sweet revenge for the Cargo Movers, who marched to war zone 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 was still unhappy 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 to formally clinch the title in this prestigious women’s club tourney bankrolled by Isuzu, SOGO Hotel and UCPB Gen with ESPN5, Hyper HD and AksyonTV as broadcast partners. “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 this battle that also has Senoh, Mikasa, Mueller, Grand Sport and Asics as technical sponsors.
Despite losing to Petron to surrender the outright semifinal berth, F2 Logistics quickly bounced back and crushed Sta. Lucia Realty in the quarterfinals before clobbering erstwhile unbeaten Cignal in the Round of Four.
They kicked off Game 1 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.
It turned out that F2 Logistics was just warming up.
After escaping Game 1 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.
“But my players did not lose their composures. They never gave up. It all boiled down to the heart and mental toughness of our team and our desire to win that led us to this victory.”
De Jesus noted that his familiarity with his wards like former Lady Spikers Galang, Marano, Kim Fajardo, Dawn Macandili, Majoy Baron and Kianna Dy is a huge advantage to their campaign this conference.
Still, he credited this win to one key ingredient: Their heart of a champion.
