Petron seeks share of Liga lead in Ilocos

Games today (Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur)

4 p.m. – Mane ‘N Tail vs Petron

6 p.m. – Generika vs RC Cola-Air Force

STO. DOMINGO, Ilocos Sur, Philippines  – The Philippine Super Liga goes out of town for the second time in two months with a pair of matches tipped to go down-to-the-wire with Petron seeking a share of the lead against Mane ’N Tail in the PSL Grand Prix presented by Asics here today.

Led by the pretty and mean-playing duo of Erica Adachi and Alaina Bergsma, the Blaze Spikers shoot for their second straight win against the Lady Stallions at 6 p.m., looking for a victory and a share of the lead with the idle Cignal HD Lady Sipkers in the five-team tournament.

The crisp-hitting Bergsma came away with ferocious kills while Adachi, a Brazilian, delivered 47 of the team’s 49 excellent sets as they powered Petron to a 26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23 victory over Generika in the league’s opener last week.

Despite their big start, Petron coach George Pascua cautions his wards for being overconfident.

“We can’t be complacent,” said Pascua. “Truth is, we are still totally blind against Mane ‘N Tail. We are not yet familiar with their plays. And with (Mane ‘N Tail) coach Francis (Vicente) around, we expect them to pull off a lot of surprises.”

This marks the second time the league is bringing its act to the provinces after visiting Cebu last month as part of the “Spike on Tour” program through Sports Core with Air 21, My Phone, Via Mare, Mikasa, Mueller Sports Medicine, Healthway Medical, Generika Drugstore, LGR and Jinling Sports as technical partners.

“The dream is to showcase high level tournaments in the province,” said Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Luis Singson. “We also want to promote Ilocos Sur as the sporting hub of the north. And this tournament is a major step in the right direction.”

Vicente said it will be interesting to see how Adachi will react to Mane ’N Tail’s Kaylee Manns’ savvy playmaking and Bergsma to Kristy Jaeckel’s power, whom he described as two of the most impressive imports so far.

“It’s going to be an interesting matchup,” said Vicente. “We will watch the video of their game and study their offensive formations. They have the height in Bergsma and (Dindin) Santiago and have a good setter in Adachi that’s why they have strong attacks. But let’s see how our scouting will work.”

Also expected to generate interest is RC Cola-Air Force, which is out to sustain its fiery form after making short work of expansion club Foton, 25-13, 25-20, 25-14.

The Raiders will be powered by seasoned international campaigners Bonita Wise and Emily Brown with Iari Yongco, Maika Ortiz and Rhea Dimaculangan as backups.

They will be battling a Generika side spearheaded by reinforcements Natalia Kurobkova of Russia and Miyuu Shinohara of Japan and backstopped by the former core of multi-titlist De La Salle Lady Spikers, led by Cha Cruz, Stephanie Mercado, Abby Marano and Michelle Gumabao.