After a successful first round, heavyweights Petron and F2 Logistics are out to resume their winning ways when they clash with separate foes in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference today at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
The Blaze Spikers seek to stretch their winning streak when they battle Sta. Lucia at 4 p.m. in a match that serves as appetizer to the 6 p.m. collision between F2 Logistics and Cocolife in the second round of this prestigious club tourney bankrolled by Isuzu, Sogo, Asics, Mikasa, Mueller, UCPB Gen and Bizooku with Genius Sports as technical provider.
Prior to that, rising stars will take centerstage as University of the East takes on De La Salle-Dasmarinas at 12 noon while collegiate powerhouse Far Eastern University and University of the Philippines tangle at 2 p.m. in the Collegiate Grand Slam.
Petron, the reigning champion of this tourney that has ESPN5, Aksyon TV and Hyper HD as broadcast partners, kicked off this season-ending conference on a high note as it won all of its seven assignments in the first round.
With that, the Blaze Spikers landed on Pool A together with Foton, Smart and Sta. Lucia while second-placers Cargo Movers emerged on Pool B with Generika-Ayala, Cignal and Cocolife.
Members of each pool will tangle in another round of action with the top team facing the eighth, second clashing with seventh, third colliding with sixth and fourth battling the fifth seed in a sudden-death quarterfinals to determine the semifinalists.
Higher-ranked squads enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four, making it easier for them to advance to the best-of-three finals showdown starting Dec. 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Although the Blaze Spikers are heavily tipped to dominate the second round due to their firepower, experience, chemistry and cohesion, head coach Shaq Delos Santos is still bracing for tough battles ahead.
“It’s still a very long way to go,” said Delos Santos, brushing off talks about a possible sweep similar to what they achieved in the same conference three years ago.
“We’re preparing one game at a time. Titles are not being won on paper alone. We need to come up with a good game plan and preparation for us to achieve our goal.”
True enough, there were some scary moments before the Blaze Spikers could book a 25-14, 25-27, 25-14, 25-12 victory over the Tornadoes late Thursday at Filoil Flying V Centre.
Delos Santos said they were quite complacent in the second set that allowed Foton’s army of attackers to take advantage.
“Our game was off and Foton quickly took advantage,” said Delos Santos, also the head coach of the national women’s team that saw action in the 18th Asian Games.
“So I told the players to keep on pushing. We should not be complacent because everybody is looking to beat us.”
Frances Molina, who torched the Tornadoes for 26 points, will again be at the forefront of attack while Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Mika Reyes and Bernadeth Pons provide stability on both ends.